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CLIPPED

TARI JAGUAR STORY

IS KRETZINGER

In Memoriam Jino Edechelathu

2nd edition, August 2023
ist edition, Feburary 2023

Jaguar font by “Sh3”

No printing or selling without explicit permission.
6

My sincere Thanks to:

Marlin Bates, Scot Bayless, Mike Beaton, Chris Brunning,
Gregg Burman, Joe Cain, Austin Cox, Loic Duval, Wiley
Evans, Carl Forhan, Brian Geiger, John Gillin, Wolf GroB,
James Hampton, Tom Kalinske, Raphaél Lemoine,

Mike Littau, Rob Lodes, Michael Liinzer, Marion Cyrus
Martin, John Mathieson, Ron McAdams, Fred Meijer, Joe
Morici, Pete Mortimer, André Motzkus, Richard Munday,
James Nudds, Silvio Poretta, Bill Rehbock, Jean Richen,
Marc Rosocha, Laury Scott, Darryl Still, Faran Thomason,
William Thorup, Leonard Tramiel, Jon Treanor, René
Vetter, Paul Westphal, Linnea Wigren, Jon Willig, Jeanne
Winding

Special Thanks to:

Alexandra Golisch and Dr. Alexander Ramseger
7

PREFACE

In 2023 the Atari Jaguar celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Atari launched the console in 1993 with the claim of
ushering in a new era. It was supposed to be so advanced
that it would cement a firm place in the console market
for the following decade. The hardware was celebrated
by the press, marveled at by software developers, longed
for by gamers — especially in Europe — and for a time
even nervously watched by the competition. After all, the
Jaguar was the first game console with two 32-bit RISC
processors working in tandem, a 64-bit Blitter and 64-bit
object processor as well as dedicated 3D capabilities. The
timing for the launch also seemed chosen well: The top
dogs Nintendo and Sega were still working on the respec-
tive successors to their 16-bit machines, and the Jaguar
launched with at least a year‘s head start, according to
everything the management in Silicon Valley could count
on at the time.

But the Jaguar failed and has been considered a joke in
video game history since. The most common prejudices
say that it was awkward to program for, consists of faulty
hardware, has probably the clunkiest controllers and last
but not least a plethora of bad games. All this adds up to
a gigantic flop with which Atari said goodbye to the video
game world. When it comes to the biggest console flops
of all time, it‘s down there with Nintendo’‘s Virtual Boy,
Sega‘s 32X and Philips‘ CD-i on everybody’s list.

But for a while, the Jaguar actually did have the potential
to make a difference. The history of the peculiar console
is a wild ride through innovations and wrong decisions,
hopes and disappointments, strong competitive pressure,
the struggle with a company’‘s past, its lack of money and

yet seemingly boundless optimism.

After just over two years on the market, the Jaguar disap-
peared without a sound. And was it any wonder? No one
really likes to talk about failure in detail, despite all the
celebrated TED Talks on the subject and all the talk about
the importance of error culture in companies. Success
has many fathers, they say. Failure, on the other hand,

is an orphan. That's why I had little hope at first when I
contacted some former developers with little more than
an vague idea that a book could be made of all this. To
my great surprise, many of them responded and gave me
valuable insights into a fascinating time in video game
history when 2D games had almost reached their peak
and it was not yet clear exactly what the future would look
like between pixels and polygons, cartridges and CDs. I
contacted more than 40 former hardware and software
developers, marketing managers, retailers and gamers
and asked them about their experiences with the Jaguar.
I am very grateful for their willingness to open up about
the subject. The quotes in this book — unless otherwise
identified — are from the e-mails and conversations I had
with them.

As people are remembering and sharing their program-
ming experiences with the Jaguar from decades ago, tech-
nical details may not always be perfectly accurate when it
comes to the deep inner workings of the console. Please
be advised that this is not meant to be a technical manual,
but focuses on the history of Atari and the Jaguar console,
and the challenges that programmers, artists and publish-
ers had to face. Moreover, I feel the need to emphasize
that this book will not tell the whole story. There are

certainly other exciting facets that remain unmentioned
here. Contemporary witnesses who would like to share
them with me are cordially invited to do so. I look forward
to update this book in subsequent editions. Just write to
clippedclaws@yahoo.com.

Boris Kretzinger
Frankfurt, August 2023

COMPUTERS
AND CONSOLES

If nothing else, video games \

have prepared the world for the

| computer age.
Scott Cohen 9 9

Atari — a brand that is synonymous for the early days of
video games. A troupe of hippies, dreamers and nerds
united under this world-famous logo and triggered a true
revolution in consumer electronics in 1977. The Video
Computer System (VCS), Atari‘s first cartridge-based
game console, became the industry‘s first million-seller
within a few years on the market. Supported by strong
marketing and advertising campaigns, the iconic brand
became a deonym. People didn‘t just play any video games
at home, they played Atari. No console manufacturer
before had staged itself so well and appealed to such a
broad group of buyers. Alongside VHS recorders and hi-fi
equipment, the console from Silicon Valley, affection-
ately known internally as “Stella”, promised its buyers

to become a part of the exciting technological future and
landed on countless Christmas wish lists. In the U.S., a
high-dollar advertising campaign with the catchy jingle
“Have you played Atari today?” was a major contributor
to the console’s success. William Gibbons explains this in
the Oxford Handbook of Music and Advertising: “The [...]
campaign reached across gender and age demographics,
positioning Atari’s products as fun for every member of
the family. [...] The jingle’s musical hook eventually be-
came a standalone sonic signifier for the Atari brand that
endured for years beyond the initial campaign.”!

The Sunnyboys from Sunnyvale had sold one million con-
soles by 1979, three years later the company had already
sold ten times as many units. Atari was one of the fastest
growing companies in U.S. history. Only the sky seemed
to be the limit for their ambitions. But in their success

in 1982, dark clouds were already looming. A mass of

1 The Oxford Handbook of Music and Advertising, p. 322-
C15.S5

boring but expensive games and strong competition from
more powerful and cheap home computers hit the U.S.
console market hard and resulted in losses in the billions.
Some analysts even wondered if video games might be as
short-lived a trend as hula hoops were in the 1950s. Atari
lost more than $500 million in 1983, putting its parent
company Warner in serious financial trouble. Toy giant
Mattel, known for Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels toy cars,
had also entered the lucrative market two years after Atari
with its subsidiary Mattel Electronics and its Intellivision
console. And there, too, losses piled up to an enormous
$300 million in the same year, so that Mattel pulled the
plug at the beginning of 1984 and gave up the console
business altogether. It seemed unclear where the young
video game industry was headed in light of these devel-
opments. Scott Cohen, who wrote a book on the rise and
fall of Atari in 1984, expressed uncertainty about Atari‘s
future, but emphasized its importance: “If nothing else,
video games have prepared the world for the computer
age.”?

In the turmoil of this crisis, Atari lost interest as well as
the necessary financial resources for a planned deal that
could have become a game changer for the company.
Japan-based Nintendo, still largely unknown in the West,
had expressed interest in selling its Famicom console in
the U.S. under the stylized logo of Mount Fuji. Without a
distributor, Nintendo entered the business itself in 1985,
giving the video game market a huge boost again within
just a few years. Meanwhile, Atari‘s fate was decided in
1984 when the former founder of computer pioneer Com-
modore, Jack Tramiel, took over the company. Under his

2 Scott Cohen: ZAP! The Rise and Fall of Atari, p. 119.
14

leadership, Commodore had so successfully deconstructed
the image of consoles in favor of computers in an aggres-
sive advertising and marketing campaign over the previ-
ous two years that some analysts actually believed video
games were done for good. Jack Tramiel mainly wanted to
sell new computers and thus compete against Apple, IBM
and Commodore — with Atari he secured a strong brand to
do so. “Atari was the second best known trademark in the
world”3, his son Leonard Tramiel once said.

Consoles were a nice toy, thought the new brand owners,
but the big money was in the computer business. Before
his departure from the company he had founded, Jack
Tramiel had turned Commodore into a billion-dollar
company. And he was determined to repeat that success
story once more. While his 8- and 16-bit computer models
were particularly successful in Europe, sales in the U.S.
fell short of expectations. Here, Nintendo celebrated one
success after another with its NES and revitalized the
video game market. Atari tried to wrest market share from
its successful competitor with a console phalanx: A new,
scaled-down version of the Atari VCS, also known as the
2600 “Junior”. For less than $50 it appealed to people on
low incomes. The Atari 7800, backward compatible with
this system and slightly more expensive, promised better
graphics and games closer to the arcade experience, start-
ing in 1986. As a third strike, the Atari XE Game System
based on the aging 8-bit computer series was supposed

to offer buyers maximum flexibility from 1987 onwards
thanks to an optionally available computer keyboard. The
game console could be expanded into a full-fledged home
computer with numerous other peripherals. The U.S. TV

3 https://www.arcadeattack.co.uk/leonard-tramiel/
15

advertising was clearly directed against the competition:
“Nintendo gives you a toy robot, but only Atari gives you
a keyboard to play advanced computer games‘, it stated.
A concept that other manufacturers had already tried out
unsuccessfully for their products in the crisis of 1983 and
1984. With its three consoles, Atari remained a distant
third among the largest console manufacturers behind
Nintendo and Sega until around 1990. The legacy of the
three 8-bit systems 2600, 7800 and XEGS, which had
fallen continuously in buyers’ favors until their production
ended in 1992, remained open.

Computers and Consoles

Our idea of what a computer looks like has changed a
great deal over the past 70 years. However, at the very
core, less has actually changed than one might think.
Whether smartphones, tablet PCs, desktop computers,
mainframes or pocket calculators: they all have a proces-
sor, Some memory, input and output devices as well as bus
systems that act as data highways to exchange informa-
tion between individual components. This is an architec-
ture that mathematician John von Neumann envisioned
as early as 1945. And in this sense, Atari‘s first cartdige-
based game console, the VCS, certainly was a computer. It
had a CPU in the form of the MOS 6507 with an 8-bit data
bus, a random access memory of 128 bytes, a joystick that
served as an input device, and it could be connected to a
TV that served as an output device. But Atari named its
console “Video Computer System” not in reference to von
Neumann, but for the simple reason that videorecorders
were poised to dominate the future of home entertain-
ment at the time of the VCS‘s debut. “Video Home Sys-
tem”, or VHS for short, were the three letters that more

and more consumers wanted to see in their living rooms.
Atari‘s marketing built on this hype and provided a tech-
savvy target group with another piece of the future for
their homes with a similar sounding name and the at least
equally enticing sounding prospect of being able to call a
small gaming computer their own. However, the rapid rise
of home computers was accompanied by the equally rapid
decline of game consoles in the so-called North Ameri-
can video game crash between late 1982 and late 1984.
Computers became not only more powerful, but also more
affordable during this period, and at the same time offered
a better gaming experience in many cases as well as the
advantage of being able to use the machine for applica-
tions as well.

Since its quick development and debut in 1984, Atari had
concentrated fully on its 16-bit ST computer line. New
console launches like that of the Atari 7800 in 1986 and to
a much greater extent that of the Atari XE Game System
in 1987 turned out to be rather unambitious. They lacked
technical finesse and, above all, exclusive titles compared
to the competition from Sega and Nintendo. Atari, once
at the spearhead of technological development, cinemati-
cally immortalized in the movie Blade Runner as a neon
footnote of an expected glorious future, instead became

a budget label in the video game segment. For as little as
$50, consumers could buy an Atari 2600 in 1987. “The
Fun is back!” was the full-bodied slogan, when the target
group had long since found their fun with titles like The
Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo
Entertrainment System. The dominance from “Big N”
was undeniable: At the end of 1990, an article in the New
York Times took stock of Nintendo’‘s status: “Of every

Dollar Americans spent on toys last year, 16 cents went to
Nintendo. That was $2.7 billion out of a total $16.8 billion
that Mom and Dad did not spend on Barbie dolls, Hulk
Hogan ‘action figures,’ licensed merchandise like Bat-
man soap or Scattergories board games. While Nintendo‘s
rivals, like Sega of America and NEC Technologies , say
their sales are better than expected, they remain tiny blips
on the radar screen of Nintendo, which has more than 90
percent of the game market.”4 The brand name Atari, a
deonym for video games ten years earlier, had become a
distant memory in the public‘s mind.

Back in the Game

Atari under Jack Tramiel had made its choice. Between
1990 and 1993, the video game division contributed about
one-third of Atari‘s total revenue, while the remaining
two-thirds came from computer sales. In addition, Atari
had sold its manufacturing plant in Taiwan in 1992 and

Total revenue in the years 1990-1992 with regard to net income

= sales # netincome

= ==

1990 1991 1992
4 New York Times, 08.12.1990: Waiting for the Zapping of
Nintendo

was dependent on finding reliable and inexpensive manu-
facturers for its products.

The shine of the once great brand was fading ever faster.
Atari‘s last bastion was in Europe, where the Tramiel
dynasty generated three-quarters of their total sales. The
company from Sunnyvale was still able to convince cus-
tomers of its products, especially in England, France, Ger-
many and Italy. But with the dwindling desire for innova-
tion under the stylized Mount Fuji, which was reflected in
rather marginal further developments of the ST series, the
willingness of buyers to engage in further adventures with
Atari sank — especially since IBM-compatible PCs became
more affordable and versatile at the same time. As a re-
sult, sales of home computers in Europe declined steadily
after a brief peak in demand following the fall of the Berlin
Wall. In the U.S. computer market, the situation looked
much more devastating. There, Atari no longer even

INTERNATIONAL SALES

Net sales outside of the U.S. for Atari in relation to total revenue in the years

1990-1992 with Europe as the principal geographic market:

™ percent

100

1990 1991 1992

appeared in official rankings of the PC industry. Whereas
the company had generated sales of $410 million and a
net profit of $14.8 million in 1990, it only managed sales
of $127 million and a net loss of $73.6 million in 1992.
Atari was at a crossroads. Perhaps the greatest hope at
this time was promised by, of all things, a project for a
console that Atari had been pursuing since 1990 and that
could probably be brought to market in a timely manner.
For the first time since 1977, Atari seemed to be in a posi-
tion to change its fate for the better with a console — not
only because it surpassed the competition in form of the
Sega Genesis and Nintendo SNES technically by a long
way, but also, at least on paper, because it could stand up
to the average home PCs of its day. At a time when Atari‘s
ST was being sold off with extensive software and game
packages at low prices and the much praised but expen-
sive successor Falcon was hardly attracting any buyers,
salvation seemed to lie in going back to their roots. As
with the VCS, three words summed up what the new won-
der was capable of. And as with the console from the 70s,
these words relied on the buzzwords of their time. For this
generation, it was “Interactive Multimedia System”, better
known as the Atari Jaguar. The only question was which
manufacturer would be the perfect match for what Atari
considered to be the coming industry standard of video
gaming. The answer had three letters and was the quintes-
sence of the term industry standard in computers.

BIG BLUE
SOMETHING

If we don‘t make a go of this, \

we'd have to close the place.

Michael H. Flanagan 9 9

More than one-fifth of U.S. households owned a computer
in 1993, and about 43 percent of PC owners also used a
computer at work. The personal computer was clearly on
the advance, and sales of computers and software seemed
to keep increasing. However, not all companies in the
market benefited from this development — the inexpen-
sive home computers from Atari and Commodore found
less and less buyers. On the other side of the price scale,
industry giant IBM also had problems selling its main-
frames. In 1991, Big Blue posted a loss of $2.86 billion; in
the first half of 1993, the deficit rose to $4.97 billion. IBM
thus lost as much money as the entire video game industry
was making at the time. While compact desktop comput-
ers based on x86 processors were on the rise, demand for
large mainframe computers, which were still IBM‘s main
business, was declining. Now Big Blue faced an existential
crisis that shook the company to its foundations. Since the
beginning of the Big Blue’s history, the technology giant
had offered its employees a de facto job guarantee. Those
who made it to IBM had a job for life. That changed in the
early 1990s in the face of immense losses. Between 1990
and 1993, IBM laid off more than 110,000 employees. An-
alysts, however, attributed Big Blue‘s weakness not only to
the declining demand of mainframes, but saw a structural
problem, which had established cumbersome internal
processes. Once-busy factories stood idle, warehouses re-
mained largely empty. IBM faced the immense challenge
of having to fundamentally restructure itself and its busi-
ness model. Suddenly, IBM-compatible PCs from other
manufacturers, of all things, seemed to be the salvation.
Other industrial giants now also opened their production
facilities to smaller PC manufacturers, which made for

5 Bureau of the Census: Census and You, Vol. 30, 06.06.1995
23

strange alliances: Apple had its Macintosh LC II manufac-
tured by DEC, IBM‘s factory in Austin, Texas, produced
notebooks for CompuAdd, and other production facilities
supplied computers for Hitachi, PC mainboards for Tai-
wanese companies or diagnostic systems for the automo-
bile manufacturer Chrysler. A lucrative business whose
value for IBM alone was estimated at about $500 mil-
lion, according to Bloomberg. However, this changeover
was by no means smooth. Sites that had previously only
processed the company‘s own orders were suddenly con-
fronted with new requirements and changed processes.
Services such as production design support, procurement
of required parts according to external specifications,
quality controls and project management were offered
without the necessary time for a fundamental change in
processes or employees being adequately trained and
prepared for the upcoming changes. The management's
position was that failure was not an option. Restructuring
while reducing staff was nothing less than a Herculean
task. At some IBM locations, the outlook was anything
but rosy. This was the case in Charlotte, North Carolina,
where some 5,100 people had been working in the late
1980s. In an headline from August 8, 1992, the Charlotte
Observer predicted: IBM‘s Charlotte Facility May Shrink.
Michael H. Flanagan of IBM‘s Charlotte plant, which had
been built in 1978 and employed about 1,500 at that time,
summed up the tense situation in 1993: “If we don‘t make
a go of this, we'd have to close the place.”®

Big Blue was struggeling — and Atari was searching for
production capacities, because Atari had sold its ap-
proximately 17,000-square-meter production facility

6 Bloomberg, 17.05.1993, Farming Out Work To IBM
24

in Tamshui, Taiwan. Since then, Sunnyvale had been
dependent on other companies to manufacture its prod-
ucts. This was a drastic step for Jack Tramiel, who was

an advocate of the deepest possible vertical integration

of production processes. The flexibility now gained in the
selection of suppliers reduced running costs, but at the
same time ensured increased dependence on contractors.
For the Jaguar, the company faced numerous challenges
at the same time: The modern RISC processors could not
be manufactured everywhere. So Atari needed a reliable
partner with the necessary production facilities. Even if
they had kept their Tamshui facility, manufacturing there
would not have been possible without major investments
in the necessary machinery. Possibly through its connec-
tion to Atari shareholder Time Warner, Toshiba came into
the conversation as a potential manufacturer for the chips.
Toshiba had bought shares worth $500 million from Time
Warner in 1992, giving it a 5.6 percent stake in the me-
dia company. In addition, the Japanese manufacturer‘s
semiconductor division invested heavily in modern RISC
technology. To accommodate application-specific ICs such
as a memory controller, the 64-bit object processor and
the 64-bit blitter in a RISC chip, Toshiba was rumored

to use the then-new 0.5 Micro manufacturing process. A
higher component integration promised reduced costs.
“There were no RISC processors and no DSPs that fulfilled
our requirements, especially at our cost”’, said Richard
Miller, then Vice President of Technology at Atari. As far
as choosing a manufacturer for mass production of the
console was concerned, Atari opted for a company within
the USA. Sunnyvale wanted to appeal to the patriotism of
its potential customers in the battle against Nintendo and

7 Electronic Engineering Times, 05.07.1993, Atari Jaguar an
IBM Animal

Sega. Computer pioneer Tramiel had already succeeded
once with this recipe during his days at Commodore in the
early 1980s. Back then, he repeatedly explained in several
interviews that Japanese products would soon flood the
U.S. computer market. With his credo “Business is war!”
he summmed up how he looked at competition in general,
but especially at competition from the Far East. However,
this battle seemed to have been decided long ago in the
video game market. Nintendo had long reached the hearts
and wallets of buyers. By the end of the 1980s, Nintendo
products already accounted for 16 percent of all toy sales
— which included video games — in the United States. The
second place in the early 1990s took another Japanese
company, Sega. Even before Tramiel had scouted out any
possibility of how to implement his ambitious plan, he de-
cided that the Jaguar absolutely had to be produced under
the U.S. flag. Laury Scott, then vice president of manu-
facturing and operations at Atari, recalls: “The Chairman
of Atari, Jack Tramiel, told me that he wanted to manu-
facture Jaguar in the United States and wanted to do so

at a price comparable to buying it from Asia. Certainly a
challenge.” One of the reasons he was so firm about this
decision was import taxes. “A significant portion of the
cost of Jaguar were semiconductors, mainly DRAM, and if
assembled in Asia, these would have had duty charged on
the entire price. DRAM alone had no duty when imported
into the US”, Laury Scott recalls. So he started asking
around. “At the same time IBM had a large manufacturing
facility in Charlotte that they were not utilizing. Herb Wat-
kins at IBM was responsible for the site and made a pitch
to his management to allow him to do contract manufac-
turing. One of my contacts mentioned to me that IBM was
looking for business and I contacted them.” Should a com-

puter giant like Big Blue, of all companies, be able to meet
Jack Tramiel‘s cost-sensitive requirements? “Going into
the deal I was not sure that IBM would be competitive, but
was able to achieve a reasonable price from them”, says
Laury Scott. “I believe Watkins quoted us an aggressive
price because if they could manufacture competitively for
consumer electronics, they could manufacture for any-
one.” And unbeknownst to Scott at the time, IBM Char-
lotte was in almost desperate need of a contract. The deal
helped both parties: Atari could adorn itself with a big
name and assumed that production would run smoothly.
And IBM‘s North Carolina plant had won another impor-
tant contract that secured jobs. No sooner was the ink dry
on the contract than the name IBM was rumored in con-
nection with the Jaguar at the Atari shareholders‘ meeting
on June 25, 1993.° The official press release followed three
days later, causing quite a stir in the media: “IBM‘s multi-
year contract is valued at $500 million”, headlines read.
An unimaginably steep figure for Atari, since the company
had just reached $127 million in sales in fiscal year 1992

— half as much as the year before. “I do not know where
the $500 million figure came from,“ Laury Scott explains.
But it seems not to be completely random: Based on a
targeted sales price of $200, Atari apparently expected to
produce no less than 2.5 million consoles within the 30
months contractually agreed with IBM. A moderate esti-
mate from Atari‘s point of view, whose Jaguar was techni-
cally superior to the 16-bit competition from Kyoto and
Tokyo. The sales successes of the competition may also
have been taken into account: Within the first 24 months
after its release on the North American market, the Sega
Genesis had sold around 1.5 million units. Nintendo,

8 Atari Explorer Online, 26.06.1993
27

whose Super NES was released two years later, sold nearly
seven million consoles within the same time span. Regard-
less of how realistic Atari‘s estimates might have been:
Both Atari and IBM were in desperate need of good news.
And the Jaguar was Big Blue‘s first foray into the world of
video game technology, long before the three letters ap-
peared on Nintendo’s Gamecube in 2001. This promised
nothing less than the beginning of a new era. In addition
to assembling the Jaguar, IBM also handled component
procurement, quality testing, packaging, warehousing,
and shipping of orders forwarded from Atari.

For Laury Scott, coordindation with IBM proved challeng-
ing: “The IBM facility in Charlotte had previously only
manufactured for IBM, so they were not used to working
with an outside company. As a normal‘ course of busi-
ness they would issue charges to the other IBM entities
that they were building for. Our contract with them speci-
fied what we were paying for, and I would refuse and then
have to spend time arguing about these other charges.
There were many cases but this one is typical.” The tech-
nology of the highly automated, approximately 93,000-
square-foot facility in Charlotte also generated discussion,
for example, in the event of malfunctions. “Their ware-
house was completely automated and they had autono-
mous vehicles that would deliver parts from the ware-
house to the production floor. They had these ‘trains’ that
would slowly drive up the hallways from the warehouse to
the floor. One day we received a bill for $60,000-$70,000
for a train to manage our production. Needless to say we
did not pay it. Production was at a standstill because there
was no train and I told the guy I was dealing with: ‘Okay, I
will pay for your train’ — not really meaning it but trying to

make a point — ‘but since I paid for it, after we finished the
production run, the train will belong to Atari.’ The reply
was: ‘Impossible! There is a lot of IBM proprietary stuff in
the train.’ It drove autonomously, it could move around
IBM‘s automated warehouse as necessary. Adding to this
problem was that this was the year IBM changed their
vacation policy to ‘use it or lose it’. The guy that I had ne-
gotiated the contract with — who was easy to work with as
he understood we were not part of IBM — had something
like 150 vacation days built up over his many year career
at IBM. He started taking Mondays and Fridays off and

as the year went on, sometimes also took Tuesdays and

or Thursdays. So I ended up having to deal with an old
line IBM-er who only knew the IBM way of doing things. I
would refer to our contract and he would tell me that ‘this’
was the IBM way and he had no authority to deviate. Usu-
ally things could wait, but sometimes decisions had to be
made quickly. I did not want to have to keep going to Herb
Watkins to resolve them.”

The good news didn't last long. Just one month after the
Jaguar press release, IBM declared a loss of eight billion
dollars in the second quarter of 1993 and announced ad-
ditional layoffs of 35,000 employees by the end of 1994.
If the $500 million didn‘t seem like a drop in the bucket
from an analysts‘ perspective before, it certainly did now.
Internal restructuring on the one hand and decades of
entrenched processes on the other had left their mark on
IBM. Moreover, the production of a game console was al-
most tantamount to humiliation for some employees. Nev-
ertheless, the Jaguar production was greenlit in Charlotte
as of July 1993. IBM wanted to deliver the first prototypes
in the same month, just 30 days after signing the contract

with Atari. Pre-production models were to roll off the as-
sembly line starting in August, and mass production was
to begin in September 1993.° It quickly became clear that
this was a very ambitious schedule. It had taken around
three years to finish work on the console. Now Atari had,
at best, three months to produce enough units and get
them on sale for the 1993 Christmas shopping season. The
essential questions now were whether Atari was really
ready for the Jaguar — and if the market was as well.

9 Electronic Engineering Times, 05.07.1993, Atari Jaguar an
IBM Animal

QUANTUM LEAP

3D was clearly where gaming
was headed. So we set out to
see what it would take to do 3D
properly and build a GPU.

John Mathieson

When the name Jaguar was rumored for the first time,
the so-called “Bit Wars” between Nintendo and Sega were
not long in the past. The Sega Genesis, which hit the U.S.
market in 1989, competed there with the 8-bit Nintendo
Entertainment System. Sega‘s successful TV ad campaign,
“Genesis Does What Nintendon‘t,” emphasized the 16-bit
graphics and sound capabilities of its console compared
to the competition. This began a diffuse argument about
numbers that neither said anything about actual gameplay
nor was it fully comprehensible by the target audience.
More bits seemed to mean more power and better games
— a widely held opinion that Atari would later build on
with its marketing for the 64-bit Jaguar. But while Ninten-
do and Sega fought for dominance in the console market,
things initially remained quiet on the part of the former
video game pioneer. In secret, an ambitious plan was ma-
turing to bring the company back to the top. This required
a technical quantum leap and a strong one-two combo:
First, a system on par with Nintendo and Sega that outdid
the competition, followed by an advanced 64-bit console
that represented a quantum leap over existing models and
would hold its own in the market for many years.

In 1990, two concrete projects emerged from these con-
siderations. At that time, the Atari world was still largely
in order. With a turnover of $411 million, Atari recorded

a net income of $14.8 million. The Game Boy competitor
Lynx, which had been launched the previous year, had
sold almost half a million units*® and the Atari ST comput-
er family was still successful, at least in Europe. That was
a good basis for future plans. From the Tramiels‘ point of
view, there was not only potential in the field of comput-

10 ST Report, 07.06.1991
33

ers, but also in consoles. Atari president Sam Tramiel
wrote in the Atari annual report 1990: “The Atari 2600
and 7800 continue to sell well in Europe while the mar-
ket for these two products in North America is extremely
slow. New table top video game consoles are planned for
introduction in 1992.”" In just two years, Atari wanted to
introduce not just one, but two new video game consoles.

A black cat brings bad luck

Initially, Atari focused on Project Panther. Hardware
designer John Mathieson, then at Flare Technology,
remembers the beginnings: “We had previously designed
the Flare One computer system with funding the develop-
ment ourselves doing contract work, and had resolved

to seek a partner to fund the development on the second
time around.” That contract work included various proj-
ects, such as faxes and hard disk controllers for Amstrad.
A contact of the Flare team from their time at Sinclair
established a connection to Sunnyvale: Richard Miller,
Vice President Technology at Atari. He remembered his
colleagues when work on a video chip for the next Atari
console stalled. Martin Brennan, co-founder of Flare
Technology, described it as follows: “The design and spec-
ification had already been started, and they said ‘some-
body‘s left — here‘s the concept’, and it was only the video
part of the chip — there was no sound. It was a novel video
architecture that allowed you to create windows of differ-
ent sizes and different bit depths. Essentially you didn't
have a frame store — it was a composite of frame stores — a
kind of smart video frame store. It would have allowed a
great deal of sprite style animation. Sprites in general in
those days would have been of a fixed size e.g. 16x16. The

11 Atari Annual Report 1990, p. 3
34

games looked ‘spritey’ because of that, this would have
been quite an interesting departure. I wasn‘t keen on it,
but I designed it and the chip was built.” The name for
the new console was also quickly found: “It wasn‘t called
Panther when I joined. Panther was the name of the car
my wife had just bought, a Panther Kallista, and the chip
had no name and I wanted to give it a handle — so it was
called Panther,” explains Brennan. In parallel, Flare Tech-
nology managed to secure the contract for another Atari
console development: “I actually convinced the bosses at
Atari that 3D was the way to go, with the experience we'd
gained on Flare One — if you didn't just do flat rendering,
but shaded rendering, you got a 3D appearance. At the
time, I was seeing pictures in magazines where computers
were rendering photo realistic 3D wire meshes and I said
‘these are static images, but they only contain a very few
number of polygons — we could take that, animate it and
you could produce a game that was a quantum leap away
from the current games.’” Rumors of the new wonder
console first came to public attention through Atari UK
boss Bob Gleadow. He stated in an interview with ACE
magazine in May 1990: “The ST console is known as
project Panther, it will be circa £150, keyboard-less, with
a 68000 at 16 MHz and advanced graphics — better than
the STE‘s graphics.”*3 However, he also explained one of
the biggest challenges in developing the Panther console:
“The problem with Panther is simply one of resource al-
location, Panther development has been continuing as a

12 http://www.konixmultisystem.co.uk/index.php?id=
interviews&content=martin#start. All following quotes from
Brennan are from this source as well.

13 ACE Magazine, Issue 32, May 90, On Safari — Forget CD, says
Atari Boss Bob Gleadow, we're talking Panthers and Lynxes,
p. 94. The following quote from Gleadow is from this source
as well.

secondary priority to the Lynx. Software houses will get
their Panther system later this year.” Nevertheless, a few
months later, New Computer Express magazine reported
in its September issue that Panther would be distributed
in the summer of 1991. Leading publishers expected their
developer kits within the following weeks.* According to
this article, the expected retail price was just under £200
and the specifications also differed from those that Glead-
ow had promised: the 68000 processor ran at 12 MHz, a
3.5° floppy drive was supposed to be connectable via an
adapter, and the console was supposed to have switchable
video modes to handle Atari ST games as well. According
to Electronic Games Monthly, however, only a handful

of developer units were available by late 1991. Designed
as a powerhouse for 2D games — the hardware could
display more than 80,000 sprites simultaneously” — the
Panther left mixed impressions. A former developer told
Electronic Gaming Monthly in early 1991: “The Panther‘s
ability to project and scale images is a vast improvement
over the Sega Genesis, but other factors, specifically the
system‘s audio capability, prevent it from eclipsing the
Super Famicom.”** One developer was also critical of
Atari‘s chances of attracting software houses to the new
console: “With Nintendo locking in most of the major
game developers, and Sega lapping up those who don‘t
agree with Nintendo’‘s policies, there‘s not much more

in the way of attractive licenses left for another system.
This is a problem that the TurboGrafx-16 has experienced
since its inception. Atari needs to concentrate on devel-
oping some blockbuster A+ titles for the Panther at the

14 New Computer Express, 9/1990, p. 6-7
15 The One, 8-1991, pp. 42-43
16 Electronic Gaming Monthly 2/1991: Atari set to Roar with new

“Panther” 16-Bit machine

start, or the machine won't ever get the footing it needs

to make the big impact that the specifications say it can
make.”” Among the companies that had started develop-
ing Panther games was Psygnosis with their title Shadow
of the Beast. Tiertex was working on a port of Strider 2,
while Jeff Minter was immersed in preliminary work for

a space game that would bear resemblance to the Atari
classic Star Raiders. Minter also wrote an impressive tech
demo for the Panther that showed off its color palette,
sprite scaling, and sound capabilities. However, nothing
more came of it: On May 16, 1991, about a year after the
first information about the console had become known,
the Panther was already cancelled. In a memo addressed
to Leonard Tramiel, Richard Miller, Larry Siegel and
Craig Erickson, Sam Tramiel explained briefly: “This is to
confirm the final, final decision that the Panther project

is cancelled. Long live the Jaguar! Please, if anyone asks,
we cancelled due to technical difficulties.” The recommen-
dation to cite technical difficulties as the reason for the
cancellation of a next-gen machine and thus to cast doubt
on Atari's ability to develop a complex, modern console
architecture was not followed by the experienced address-
ees. Larry Siegel, then President of Software Develop-
ment at Atari, declared shortly afterwards in a letter to
the software houses that had been working on games for
the Panther that Atari would skip this console generation
to present something more forward-looking instead: “A
spectacular game system that we feel will be capable of be-
ing the technology leader into the 21st Century. Those of
you who have placed time and energy behind the Panther
will be compensated for your support. We have no inten-
tion of causing you financial distress ... we will give you

17 Electronic Gaming Monthly 2/1991: Atari set to Roar with new
“Panther” 16-Bit machine

every opportunity to adopt your development schedules

to this new system.”"® Craig Erickson, Vice President of
Software Development at Atari, added: “The Jaguar was
progressing faster than we anticipated and we asked our-
selves why were we putting Panther out instead of Jaguar?
At that point we decided to drop Panther and push all our
resources behind Jaguar.”

However, the technical difficulties associated with Pan-
ther development mentioned by Sam Tramiel in his memo
were real. Game designer Jim Gregory, who was program-
ming on a Panther devkit at Hand Made Software at the
time, recalls a fatal bug in an interview with Ataricompen-
dium: “Unfortunately we found a big bug in the core chip.
In those days there were no FPGA-type chips and so the
main chip was a committed block of silicon. That meant
that Atari had paid a big chunk of money to make the die
and were ready to ramp up production. If I remember cor-
rectly, it would totally freeze without any way to recover
except with a full power cycle. The bug was related to
divide-by-zero problems. It was not possible to ,just avoid
dividing by zero‘ to make it usable. We sent them a chunk
of code that would easily recreate the issue to show the
problem. When we reported the issue we were first met
with disbelief and then annoyance as if we had caused

it to fail. I believe that at least one other developer later
reported the bug and then the whole Panther project was
doomed.”’? Leonard Tramiel commented on the Panther‘s
development status in a Facebook post in 2019, reiterat-
ing the scope of the error: “The simple fact is it never

18 New Computer Express 6/1991. The following quote from
Craig Erickson was taken from the same source.
19 http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/interviews/

jim_gregory/interview_jim_gregory.html
38

worked. Some systems were built, against my suggestion
that we wait till we had working chips. Some were shipped
to developers awaiting working chips. [...] The problem
was traced to a flaw in the heart of the system that would
take a lot of time and effort to get working. We looked at it
from all angles and decided to scrap the project.”?° Thus,

a release by the end of 1991 was out of the question. Since
the same team was responsible for the Jaguar alongside
the Panther project, any delay in one would also have
meant problems for the schedule of the second console.
None of the game projects started on the Panther contin-
ued on the Jaguar.

The end of the Panther also revealed the problematic
communication between Atari in the U.S. and the UK. A
few weeks before the announced end of the console, Bob
Gleadow had stated at a press conference that the Panther
hardware was ready. He then went through the specifi-
cations of the console and stated that it would probably
be on the market before Christmas 1991. Through the
game developers involved and inquiries from the media,
Gleadow learned that he would not be able to present

any new gaming hardware that Christmas. Bitter for the
experienced manager, who worked for the company since
1986. But Atari‘s marketing department in the UK quickly
followed the U.S. line, and marketing manager Peter Stad-
don told The One magazine in July 1991: “The Panther
was taking longer to bring to market, the other project
taking less — we‘d have left ourselves with a gap between
the two launches of only six to nine months.” Gleadow‘s

20 This comment has been documented here: https://ctrl-
alt-rees.com/downloads/ataripanther/facebook/
FMIM6XWXoAMLVEc.jpg

21 The One, 7-1991: Atari Locks Panther Away, p. 15

explanations and remarks regarding the scarce resources
at Atari give important clues as to why the decision in
Sunnyvale turned out the way it did, and why it was prob-
ably necessary in order not to jeopardize the second, more
promising console project. “The problem with Panther is
simply one of resource allocation,” he had said. That was
in 1990, when Atari had 1,420 employees worldwide, 170
of them in development. By the end of 1991 — Atari‘s sales
had shrunk by $153 million — that number had dropped
to 507 employees, 146 in the development department. “It
was a very hectic environment in general, we were doing
too many things with too few resources,“ recalls Faran
Thomason, producer at Atari at the time. That made it all
the more important to use the available resources in a tar-
geted manner. Moreover, according to Sam Tramiel, the
Panther would not have been revolutionary enough to re-
ally convince: “Atari‘s president, Sam Tramiel, stated that
he wanted to produce ‘wow’ machines, not just ones com-
parable with rivals,”?? RAZE magazin emphasized. The
64-bit Jaguar, on the other hand, should not only be years
ahead of the competition, but also be able to compete with
the Super NES in terms of price. A return to the old Atari
slogan “Power without the Price”. “If Atari do meet this
price tag, and finish the unit in time for its scheduled US
launch in winter 1992, the Jaguar could be for the Ninte-
ties what the VCS was for the Seventies”, RAZE said. But
the end of the Panther also opened the door for skeptics
who doubted Atari‘s ability to launch a console at all. For
example, Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine stated:
“Any new hardware from Atari Corp. must be viewed with

22 RAZE 9/1991, Atari‘s Cat Scrap. This was the understanding
of Len Stys as well: Z-Net, 06.12.1991, Issue 91-51, Len Stys
about the Chicago Atari Computerfest

23 RAZE 9/1991, Atari's Cat Scrap

an extremely jaundiced eye. After all, following months of
leaks regarding the Atari Panther, the entire project was
scrubbed in the blink of an eye.”*4

Quantum Leap

Development of the Jaguar began at the same time as
that of the Panther. Hardware designer John Mathieson
remembers: “We started development in mid 1990, and
from the beginning Atari was funding the development.”
While Brennan worked on the Panther, Mathieson focused
on the Jaguar: “We saw the move that 3D gaming was
coming — it was already visible in the arcades, pseudo-3D
games like Pole Position had been around for a while, and
3D was clearly where gaming was headed. So we set out
to see what it would take to do 3D properly and build a
GPU.” Tangible examples were few and far between in a
video game landscape dominated by 2D games in the early
9os. Flight simulations like LHX Attack Chopper for the
PC or the action adventure Hunter for the Amiga showed
with their rough polygon graphics where the journey
would lead. Compared to 3D arcade titles like the racing
game S.T.U.N. Runner, they made it equally clear that
this generation of home computers and consoles was not
yet ready for fast polygon graphics. Mathieson, however,
chose not to simply look at some game's code, but instead
chose a different, more academic and, in his view, more
efficient path: “I bought a copy of Foley and Van Dam‘s
‘Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice’ and wrote a
3D renderer in C based on the book to see what math was
required, and to understand where the heavy workloads
were that we would need to accelerate in hardware.” First
published in 1982, the book had just come out in a second

24 Electronic Gaming Monthly 9/1992
41

edition in 1990, expanded primarily to include 3D ras-
ter and vector graphics, rendering, geometric modeling,
and edge smoothing (anti-aliasing). Instead of dissecting
individual games, Mathieson focused on the mathemati-
cal fundamentals that all programmers relied on. He was
convinced that on this basis he could develop a powerful
technology that could handle all those processes for mod-
eling 3D graphics much faster than the current consoles
and computers of the time. The big challenge was that in
1990, there were no 3D-capable chips that would have
been price-competitive for use in consumer electronics.
“This was the era of super-expensive Silicon Graphics
workstations for anything related to 3D, and 3D graphics
cards for PCs were still half a decade away. The Jaguar
architecture took a 2D graphics engine, what we used to
call a Blitter, and added shading and Z-buffer capabilities,
turning it into what we would today call a ROP (Raster-
OP engine). Then it added a custom RISC processor to
manage the geometry and shading modeling, and this is
what we called the GPU. Today we would consider this
combination to be a simple and crude GPU as a whole, but
back then the term had no defined meaning. The GPU in
Jaguar was a Graphics cPU. The sound chip was a concep-
tual evolution of what we had done for the Flare One, and
was a cheaper solution than any commercial DSP product.
We re-used the graphics RISC processor design as a DSP,
with some modifications to suit its new purpose,” Ma-
thieson explains. In addition to two RISC chips, the new
console also absolutely had to house a Motorola 68000.
This CPU was at the heart of consoles like the Sega Gen-
esis, as well as home computers like the Apple Macintosh,
Commodore Amiga and Atari ST, among others. It was a
solid choice for processing complex mathematical tasks in

machine language quickly and efficiently. Moreover, this
chip was available in large quantities and at a low price

— an all-around attractive choice as a starting point for a
1990 console, in other words. But probably the greatest
strength of this processor was that many programmers
were familiar with it. John Mathieson: “I always felt it
was important to have some normal processor, to give
developers a warm feeling when they start. The 68K is
inexpensive and does that job well.”5 By the end of 1991,
however, the final decision about the processor had not
yet been made”? and Atari played through various possi-
bilities. “Atari was already a 68000 house, as that is what
the Atari STs used, and we favored it too due to its elegant
architecture and good performance. At the time it was
clearly better, and better value, than an 8086 or a RISC
core. Jaguar could also work with the 68020 which was
way faster, but the Tramiels rejected that option on price.
We did build some 68020 based developer systems and
the code running there was about 3x-4x faster, if memory
serves,” says John Mathieson. Programmer Fred Gill of
Attention to Detail recalls that Atari also considered more
power, at least at times, for GPU and DSP: “Originally
Jaguar was intended to be 40 MHz, and the chips turned
out to be very hard for the silicon manufacturers to pro-
duce; they wouldn‘t guarantee them at 40 MHz.””’ Despite
the cutbacks in clock speed, the Jaguar not only outper-
formed the Panther, but also the competition from Sega
and Nintendo by a long way. Fabien Sanglard, who wrote
about the adventure game Another World on the Jaguar,
explains on his website: “The machine in theory was able

25 Interview by Travis Guy, Atari Explorer Online, 16.01.1995

26 Z-Net, 06.12.1991, Issue 91-51, Len Stys on the Chicago Atari
Computerfest

27 EDGE 2/1994, p. 42-43

to excel at both 2D and 3D since the sprite engine had no
limit in terms of sprite dimension. A 2D game was able to
have as many sprites as needed, with arbitrary size.”?° In
addition, there were impressive scaling capabilities thanks
to the Object Processor, i.e. the lightning-fast zooming in
or out of dozens of pixel objects at the same time without
affecting the game speed. A feature that was very popular
in arcade machines and could provide numerous impres-
sive effects such as quickly zooming past trees or houses
on the side of the road in a racing game. Another fea-

ture that was prominently advertised in connection with
the Jaguar, especially at the beginning — and played an
important role in the naming of the pack-in game — was
the so-called morphing. This technique, famously used in
the blockbuster movie Terminator 2, involves identifying
similarities in two or more images and visualizing a seem-
ingly fluid transformation from the initial image to the
final motif on this basis.

The Jaguar did, however, have one conceptual weak-
ness. John Mathieson explains: “What we did not account
for properly in the architecture was the importance of
texture mapping. We believed the majority of rendered
graphics would be Gouraud shaded solids, so the Jaguar
architecture directly fetched texture data from DRAM, a
slow operation.” The reason for this lies in the Jaguar‘s
development period: when work on the console began in
1990, games with few polygons represented the peak of
3D technology on home computers and in arcades. Games
like 1987's Driller and 1988's Elite paved the way for
more impressive and faster 3D polygon graphics at home,
such as those offered by the 1990 helicopter simulation

28 https://fabiensanglard.net/another_world_polygons_Jaguar/
44

LHX, among many others. In the arcades, racing games
like Winning Run from 1988 or S.T.U.N. Runner from
1989 provided fast-paced polygon action. They all either
worked without shading at all, relied on a rough dithering
to create shadow effects, or used so-called flat shading. A
console that could handle not only flat shadows, but also
the much more complex Gouraud Shading, seemed like

a bet on the right horse. And Mathieson‘s assumption
seemed to be confirmed at first: Aracde games such as
Namco's Starblade from 1991, Sega‘s Virtua Racing from
1992, Virtua Fighter from 1993 or Namco’s Cyber Sled
from the same year got by without texture mapping and
performed impressively. Each new 3D title that appeared
underlined the correctness of Jaguar‘s development direc-
tion. However, software development outpaced hardware
performance faster than anticipated. When Ridge Racer
hit arcades in 1993 and Doom hit home PCs later that
year, both games did exceptionally well with their textured
graphics. Polygons that could be covered with textures
provided a higher immersion and more realism. At this
time, after a good two and a half years of development,
Jaguar was too far along to optimize the hardware for this
technology.

No patents pending

By spring 1992, the basic development work on the Jaguar
had been completed. In the 1991 Annual Report, pub-
lished in April 1992, Sam Tramiel wrote: “On the video
game front we are developing an advanced console which
will have superb video and audio capabilities. This prod-
uct is now being debugged and is code named ‘Jaguar.’

I am very excited about this platform, and I feel it will

mature into a very successful video game system.”?? On
April 20, 1992, Atari registered the Jaguar logo as a trade-
mark.°° The chip designs, on the other hand, were not
submitted for patent. As technology patents and patents
for the design of the handheld and its game cartridges are
documented for the Atari Lynx, it remains unclear what
motivated Atari to forego patenting their next-generation
console of all things. A copy of the chips by other com-
panies would still have been justifiable according to the
Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984. The verifiable
first commercial use of a chip design was sufficient for
this. So it’s possible that Atari decided to save the costs
for a patent application, although this only amounted to

a few thousand dollars. Instead, when the Jaguar was
released in 1993, it adorned itself on two patents from the
early days of video game history on its label at the bottom:
one from August 1977, which described the creation of an
animated image on a screen. The second, from November
1984, described a video display with multicolor graphics.

Nintendo: Graphics Upgrade of the Third Kind
The small British software studio Argonaut Software han-
dled this quite differently. On January 29, 1992, it filed a
patent for three-dimensional modeling of 3D objects.3* A
process that would hardly have attracted further public
attention. However, behind it was a new technology that
gave Nintendo’‘s 16-bit Super NES console 3D capabilities.

“It was all kicked off during one of our day-long meetings

29 Atari Annual Report 1991, p. 41

30 Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark
Office, Volume 1156 Number 4, Trademarks, 23.11.1993, filed
on 20th April 1992, Class 9, Electrical and Scientific
Apparatus, Class 28, Toys and Sporting Goods

31 https://patents.google.com/patent/JP3335695B2/en?q=
Argonaut+Software+Limited&before=priority:19940101&
after=priority:19920101

on my initial visit to Kyoto in July 1990 when Nintendo
invited Jez [San] to show off the 3D tech Argonaut had
been developing on the NES and the Game Boy,”*? recalls
Dylan Cuthbert, then a developer at Argonaut. “Miyamoto
showed us a prototype of Pilotwings which had a simple
DSP chip in it to do the perspective calculations. He

said he was disappointed because even with that chip he
couldn't rotate the sprite-based aircraft and had to rely on
drawn frames for available angles. Jez [San] knew a guy —
which was Ben Cheese — from his work on the abandoned
Konix Multisystem and called him there and then in the
corner of the meeting room with about thirty Nintendo
guys sitting across from us, including Miyamoto, Gun-

pei Yokoi, Takehiro Izushi, Yasuhiro Minagawa, Genyo
Takeda and many other luminaries.”33 The young develop-
ers were able to convince Nintendo of their merits. Their
approach to developing the 3D accelerator chip, which
later became known as Super FX, was unconventional:
“We designed the Super FX chip in a way no one had
designed hardware before — we built the software first,
and designed our own instruction set to run our software
as optimally as possible. No one did it that way around!
Instead of designing a 3D chip, we actually designed a full
RISC microprocessor that had math and pixel rendering
functions, and the rest was run in software,”4 explains Jez
San. They managed to implement it so well that Electronic
Gaming Monthly noted: “The Nintendo chip will allow the
Super NES to really take on Atari‘s Jaguar system, which
is also based on RISC technology.“35

32 https://www.eurogamer.net/born-slippy-the-making-of-
star-fox

33 ibidem

34 ibidem

35 Cited according to Z-Net, Issue 23, 18.12.1992

CD or no CD

In terms of storage media, Atari relied on cartridges, while
competitors such as 3DO, Commodore Amiga CD32 and
all subsequent consoles — with the big exception of the
Nintendo 64 from 1996 — relied on CDs as storage me-

dia for their games. However, at the time of the Jaguar‘s
development in the early 1990s, the CD-ROM‘s break-
through in the video game market within just a few years
was by no means a foregone conclusion. The first video
game console with a CD add-on was NEC‘s PC Engine,
released in 1988 and known as TurboGrafx in the U.S.
The CD had been on the European and North American
markets for just five years at that point and, along with the
players it required, was a luxury item. Two years later, the
NEC console duo appeared in North America: the con-
sole cost around $200, while the CD add-on required an
investment of another $400. By comparison, Nintendo‘s
cartridge-based Super NES cost under $200. In terms of
retail prices for game titles, there was no significant differ-
ence despite the much lower manufacturing costs for the
optical storage media compared to ROM cartridges. The
pressing of a CD cost just $1.50, while the production of a
cartridge cost up to ten times more. For gamers, the silver
discs were therefore a less than enticing prospect from a
financial point of view. Even the Philips CD-i and Commo-
dore CDTV, positioned as multimedia players introduced
to the market in 1991 at a price of around $1,000, failed

to convince consumers on either side of the Atlantic. So
throughout the Jaguar‘s development, CD-ROM technol-
ogy played virtually no role in the mass market. In 1991,
private households bought only two percent of all CD
drives in the USA.*° In Europe, the situation was hardly

36 https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/multimedia-buyers-
get-message-about-the-new-medium-a-cdrom-boom-has-

any different. Against this background, the assessment of
Bob Gleadow is understandable, who predicted in 1990:
“CD technology itself is advancing pretty quickly, eventu-
ally you'll get very fast and graphically great games of TV
quality,“ while at the same time he mentioned with regard
to the then pending Panther release: “I believe that adding
a CD-ROM today in end user terms must add £150-200 to
the retail price. Is it therefor viable yet? If the market says
yes we'll also have one, we don't believe it is ready to say
yes — yet!”87 Looking ahead, Gleadow also stated: “I think
the Philips CD-i system is a step in the right direction but
it’s still expensive and comes within my three year plan for
when CD‘s become a built-in feature.” In fact, the first at-
tempts in the early 1990s to establish the CD in consumer
electronics proved bumpy. Philips‘ CD-i sold around
400,000 units within the first three years. Sega wasn‘t
much more successful with the CD add-on for its Genesis
console either: launched in the U.S. in October 1992, the
company sold about 300,000 units by July 1993.3° The
actual CD-ROM revolution took place elsewhere: In 1993,
60 percent of all CD drives sold in the U.S. were already
being installed in domestic PCs; in Europe, the figure

was 25 percent.? The fact that CD-based consoles were
comparatively expensive was also underlined by the 3DO,
released in 1993 and retailing for around $700. Expen-

sive hardware was not at all what Jack Tramiel had in
come-within-12-months-for-a-business-which-was-
lowvolume-and-highprice-writes-tony-feldman-1421029.html

37 All of his quotes on this page are from: ACE Magazine, Issue
32, May 90, On Safari — Forget CD, says Atari Boss Bob
Gleadow, we're talking Panthers and Lynxes, p. 94.

38 New York Times, 04.07.1993, Sega Takes Aim at Disney‘s
World
39 https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/multimedia-buyers-

get-message-about-the-new-medium-a-cdrom-boom-has-
come-within-12-months-for-a-business-which-was-
lowvolume-and-highprice-writes-tony-feldman-1421029.html

mind. In an interview with the German magazine TOS, he
explained in 1992 looking ahead: “With the new machines,
our old motto ‘Power without the Price’ becomes relevant
again. These are multimedia devices at sensationally low
competitive prices.”4° Accordingly, in early 1994, a few
months after the Jaguar‘s release, Richard Miller argued
when asked why the console didn‘t come with a CD drive:
“Frankly, for the extra $200 the extra gameplay that you
get from the addition of a CD is pretty limited.”41 However,
that hardly read as an incentive to buy the announced CD
add-on.

Atari‘s experience with its own CD system and the associ-
ated pitfalls had not been very encouraging so far. In the
course of presenting its ST computers, the company had
already announced a CD-ROM drive in 1985. This was a
sensation in a computer world that was just beginning to
switch from 5.25“ to 3.5“ floppy disks at that time. How-
ever, this full-bodied announcement was followed by a
three-year hiatus before the drive was actually unveiled at
CeBit 1988 in Germany and then sold to business custom-
ers in arun of only about 500 units. According to Atari,
the manufacturing costs were too high to be of interest to
the bulk of the price-sensitive customer base. Neverthe-
less, Tramiel gave the CD drive a last big appearance at
the CeBit three years later, only to let it disappear once
again, and this time for good. This didn‘t necessarily
ensure that interested parties took every new announce-
ment under the Fuji logo seriously. From Atari‘s point

of view, the technology was still not priced attractively
enough for home use — according to Tramiel, this applied
to the PC as well as the video game market. An assess-

40 TOS Magazin, 5/1992
41 EDGE 2/1994, p. 10-11, Jaguar bears its claws

ment that Fortune Magazine shared in its June 1992 issue:
“Industry analysts say that it will be some time before
videogamers warm up to the idea. The people engaged in
marketing CD-ROM - both hardware and software — are
still just finding their way, testing the waters with a variety
of products. Although the bells-and-whistles multimedia
programs get all the hype and glory, for now the useful-
ness of CD-ROM technology is better demonstrated by

the relatively mundane business software — the reference
tools, phone lists, maps, and training guides.”4?

Atari wanted to leave the choice of buying a video game
console with CD technology for about $500 or a cartridge-
based system for half the price up to its customers. In an
interview with the German video game magazine ASM,
Tramiel revealed: “The customer is now more willing to
buy cartridges than CDs. CD-ROM programs take a long
time to develop. But we need to show products as quickly
as possible. That‘s why we decided on a combined solu-
tion.”43 The Jaguar could open up to access the bright CD
future with an optionally available add-on for an extra
charge to all those who wanted to follow this trend as
quickly as possible. The model for this was unquestion-
ably Sega‘s Mega CD, which sold around 180,000 copies
in the U.S. in the first months after its introduction in the
fourth quarter of 1992.4 The decision was made halfway
through the console‘s development phase. The CD drive is
mentioned for the first time in the annual report for 1992,
with numerous features: Double Speed, space for up to
650 megabytes of data, full motion video in VHS quality,

42 Fortune Magazine, 29.06.1992, “CD-ROM: The Next PC
Revolution

43 Aktueller Software Markt 5/1994, p. 110

44 Computerworld, 21.06.1993, More Than Just A Game

audio CD player, compatible with Kodak Photo CDs and
the CD+G format, Atari promised. This would make the
Jaguar a compact multimedia player — and accordingly
it was called “Multimedia Entertainment System” for the
first time in that annual report.

The idea behind the modular console design was to first
win over a broad group of buyers with a comparatively
inexpensive, cartridge-based console and then pick up
those who wanted more multimedia content with the
CD-based expansion who were willing to pay the neces-
sary surcharge. The fact that Atari was in no great hurry
to jump on the silver disc bandwagon might also be due to
the comparatively slow speed and some teething troubles
that the medium still suffered from. “We felt that the CD
was well suited as a storage medium for the future, but
right now the CD software leaves a lot to be desired. Pro-
grammers need to learn how to handle the medium, and
they need hardware strong enough to cover the problems
caused by the CD,” explained Darry] Still, Atari‘s market-
ing manager for the UK.*> “The big advantage of a ROM
cart [...] is that there is no slowdown whatsoever in access-
ing sound and graphics in-game“, Richard Miller said.#°
On the other hand, Sam Tramiel explained a significant
advantage of silver discs over cartridges in a discussion
with a user on Usenet in early 1995: “The CD media is
very inexpensive and can be reproduced in a week ver-
sus six weeks on a ROM for a cart.“4” He did admit that
time and effort necessary for CD-based games was longer
because, among other things, a lot of video material had

45 EDGE 2/1994, S. 10-11, Jaguar bears its claws
46 ibidem
47 https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video.atari/c/

Utixpy2Cj5A/m/xrLE-fk8eBoJ
52

to be created, which compensated the disadvantages of
ROM carts. At the same time, however, he stated in his
Usenet comment: “The point that a game is coming out
on CD does not mean it is going to be ‘better’ or diferent
than a cart version.” He was more or less following in the
footsteps of video game designer Chris Crawford, who
founded the Computer Game Developers Conference,
which has been held annually since 1999 under the name
Game Developers Conference. For a long time, he was
among the critics of the CD-ROM“, because the medium
did nothing to increase the playability and replay value of
games in his view. Skepticism about the CD and the asso-
ciated investment for many companies, however, seemed
far less widespread than hope for the future of the shiny
new disc worlds. Computer Gaming World ran a headline
in April 1993 on the subject of the CD-ROM: “Forging
ahead or fit to be smashed?” Accordingly, the growing
number of shovelware, i.e. cheaply produced software of
rather below-average quality on CD, was cause for con-
cern and seemed to confirm Chris Crawford‘s fears. At the
same time, however, the editorial team recorded a grow-
ing number of games that offered reason for hope. But
for the time being, the CD expansion remained only an
announcement and Atari concentrated fully on the launch
of the cartridge-based Jaguar. For most game developers,
however, the question of the medium for their titles was
not the crucial issue. Prominent exception was lan
Hetherington, CEO of software company Psygnosis, who
was not very enthusiastic about the Jaguar: “It‘s either an
over-priced and over-specced cartridge machine or an un-
der-specced CD machine. If you are going to launch a CD
machine you must be committed to the format and make

48 http://www.erasmatazz.com/library/the-journal-of-
computer/jcgd-volume-5/volume-5-number-4-april.html

it CD-based from day one. If Atari wanted to launch a
cartridge machine then they should have looked at a price-
point of £75. If they wanted to launch a CD machine then
£250-£300 is fine, but it would have to offer a lot more
than this.”4° However, the studio had been bought out by
Sony months before this quote was published in order

to push the development of games for their PlayStation,
which was still in development at the time. One might
therefore assume that the harsh rejection of the Jaguar
was at least partly due to the studio‘s reorientation.

Getting the Jaguar to roar

The Jaguar console was supposed to make an impression
on players every time they switched their system on. The
Tramiels decided that it was best to let the Jaguar roar,
but were unwilling to license a fitting sound. Instead, Rob
Lodes, who worked at Atari as a composer, was instructed
to get something done. And so he did: “I called the San
Francisco Zoo, introduced myself from Atari and said
‘Hey, we want to record some of the cats, is it okay if we
come up there and do that?’ They said yes. And they also
told us that they fed the big cats on Tuesday and that
they normally made a lot of noise on that day. They were
really cool to us. So my friend M. Stevens and I went up
to the Zoo on a Tuesday, and I‘ve got a little pocket DAT
recorder, a small shotgun mike and my headphones. We
walked over to the Jaguar cage, and the Jaguar was just
sitting there, kinda hanging out. And I said to M. ‘Play
with it. Get it to do something. There is a stick there, so try
that.’ He picked up the stick and started playing with the
cat. The Jaguar came over and pulled the stick out of his
hands, but it didn’t make any sounds. He tried it for a few

49 EDGE 2/1994, S. 10-11, Jaguar bears its claws
54

minutes, until somebody came over and asked us what we
were doing there, and we almost got thrown out. So we ex-
plained everything and were asked not to poke at the cats.
We thought oh well, let‘s get back to the lions and the ti-
gers, maybe we can get something there. So we went back
and there was a number of lions and tigers and we were
recording them while they were being fed. There was one
lion in particular, a female — I don‘t remember her name,
but it was a really good roar. So we got something and we
kinda went back with our tails between our legs because
we didn't get a Jaguar sound. I thought we could probably
use these other cat sounds in a game or something, so it‘s
not all bad.” But the fact that the sound did not originate
from a Jaguar didn’t bother Atari at all, as Rob Lodes
remembers: “I had already left Atari and was working for
another company when I got this call from LX Rudis over
at Atari and he's like ‘Where is that lion roar?’ And I asked
‘You're not going to use that, are you?’ And he said ‘Yes
we must have it.’ So I got on my DAT machine and found
the sound, captured it into Sound Designer, cleaned it up,
pitched it down a little bit to give it a deeper sound, put

it on a floppy disk and delivered it to LX Rudis. Later LX
told me what happened. So apparently they had a meet-
ing and someone said ‘But this is a lion roar. We can‘t use
this.’ And Leonard Tramiel responded in the meeting with
‘The Jaguar just wants to roar!’ So that‘s how it ended up
in there.”

Control Issues

The Jaguar controller is considered clunky, unconven-
tionally shaped and somehow a relic from the past. The
joypad regularly makes it into top ten lists of the worst
video game controllers of all time. Even at the time of the

console‘s release in 1993, it seemed like an odd choice: a
mere three fire buttons were no longer sufficient for many
software titles, especially the increasingly popular fighting
games. Rob Lodes remembers: “The first day the control-
ler showed up, everybody hated it, except for Sam. Sam
wanted it because he remembered that on the old Ataris,
you had a pad where you could type stuff.” The controller
did offer a total of 17 buttons, but in an unusual form. At-
ari had added a keypad to the pad of its next-gen console.
Although this was not unheard of in the video game world,
it was considered a relic of bygone days. Both, Atari‘s
5200 game console, introduced in 1982, and the compet-
ing product from Coleco, launched in the same year, had
controllers with keypads. Both disappeared after a brief
guest appearance on the market, and the concept was not
taken up by any major manufacturer in the following ten
years. Sega‘s 1989 North American release of the Genesis
console — known as the Mega Drive in Europe and Japan
— came with a three-button joypad. The Super Nintendo
Entertainment System — Super NES oder SNES for short
— released in the U.S. in 1991 and offered four fire buttons
and two shoulder buttons. The same year Atari released
the Jaguar, Sega debuted its six-button joypad to meet the
demands of ported arcade hits like the immensely popu-
lar Street Fighter IT. Being able to control digital game
characters with complex, quick-to-execute button combi-
nations was considered a key advantage among gamers.
Atari‘s joypad, which turned out to be significantly larger
than those of its competitors, leveled out its button advan-
tage with the keypad placement. Especially for the control
of beat-em-ups, the joypad fell behind player expecta-
tions. It was much more difficult for children‘s hands than
for adults to reach the buttons placed in the lower center

of the controller. Fast combinations in hectic game situa-
tions were almost impossible.

The “Made in the USA” slogan, with which Atari wanted
to appeal to the national pride of buyers, did not apply

to the controllers: Sinoca Enterprises from Taiwan and
Casio Kofu from Japan took over the production of the
pads. The manufacturing cost was a little over four dollars
per unit in September 1993, presumably a little above the
cost of competing products. But why did Atari decide on
this idiosyncratic design? The answer lies in the aborted
Panther project. Not everything that was connected to
the black cat came to an abrupt end with it. The first
indication of this can be found in the April 1991 issue of
Electronic Gaming Monthly: “The Atari Panther is ru-
mored to be bringing back a feature not seen since Col-
eco-Vision: a numeric keypad in addition to a joypad!”*°
Should the most literally tangible remnant of the Jaguar‘s
planned predecessor to date be its controller? Hardware
developer John Mathieson remembers: “The controller
design already existed when I moved to the U.S. It might
have come from Panther, as Atari would not have seen a
reason to change it.” This is supported by the fact that the
controller is very similar to the planned console design

of the Panther. According to the drafts, the Panther was
supposed to have the same two 15-pin connectors that
the Atari STE home computer already had when it was

launched in 1989, but left largely unused*' and which

50 Electronic Gaming Monthly 4/1991

51 At the 1990 Summer CES, Atari apparently showed XEGS
lightguns connected to STEs. In Current Notes Magazine,
Volume 10, March 1990, Atari notes about the use of the
modern ports: “Use 15-pin connectors with 9-pin adapters to
allow four-player games (or six-player games with joysticks
connected to the two 9-pin joystick ports), or use enhanced
joysticks, paddles, or light guns.” p. 13. In its December 1990

was later shared by the Jaguar. Leonard Tramiel, Vice
President Software Development at Atari and part of

the owning family, explains: “I have no recollection of a
planned controller for Panther, but it isn’t far fetched that
one existed and was used for Jaguar.” Another possible
reason for Atari to hold on to the keypad for the Jaguar
was Time Warner's 25 percent stake in the company. Sam
Tramiel told the Electronic Engineering Times in July
1993: “In the course of our product development, we‘ve
had frequent discussions with Time Warner. It has set
the direction for our machine to have cable and telephone
connections.”®? In addition to the necessary I/O structure
of the console, a joypad with keypad for dialing in was an
almost ideal addition. Sam Tramiel once again pointed
out the importance of the number pad in this context at
the first official press conference on August 18, 1993.3
Bob Brodie, Director of Communications, stated in this
regard at the end of the same year: “In fact, we think that
some of the multiplayer networks espoused like the Sega
Channel might be better served by a cartridge that al-
lowed you to [...] play online games here! The keypad on
the controller is perfect for that kind of stuff!”54 A third
aspect that speaks for the decision to keep the keypad may
be based in Atari‘s roots in the computer world. Since the
sale of the brand to Jack Tramiel in 1984, the company
had changed its product strategy and transformed itself
from being mainly a video game manufacturer to being

issue, the magazine STart also does not know of a better
application than 9-pin adapters for the two new ports of
the STE and, in addition, almost casually mentions the
possibility of connecting test equipment, because it was
possible to read and write data via the two ports.

52 Electronic Engineering Times, 05.07.1993, Atari Jaguar an
IBM Animal

53 Computer Gaming World November 1993, p. 10

54 Atari Explorer Online, 07.12.1993

mainly a home computer manufacturer. However, the new
owners did not want to shed its playful roots: game con-
soles like the Atari 2600, 7800, XE Game System and the
Game Boy rival Lynx were considered welcome revenue
generators. At the same time, Atari tried to position itself
as a serious alternative to IBM-compatible PCs, Apple’‘s
Macintoshes and Commodore Amigas for professional
users — a difficult balancing act. Nevertheless, the 16-bit
ST computer model achieved sales success, especially in
Europe, and convinced game developers — a basis that
could have ensured rapid conversions of ST games for the
new console. A controller with a numeric keypad would
have facilitated game ports, especially of more complex
titles that required different keys on the computer key-
board. Against the background of the originally planned
Panther release at the end of 1991, for which the controller
was originally intended, and at a time when Atari‘s aging
ST was still selling on the European market, this consider-
ation remains speculation, but does not seem improbable.
However, gamers who saw Atari's Jaguar for the first time
at the end of 1993 and held the controller in their hands,
knew nothing of all this. There was neither an online net-
work or the necessary hardware for the console, nor ports
of ST games. From a user‘s perspective, the joypad offered
no apparent added value over the competition from Sega
or Nintendo. Mike Littau remembers: “Certainly a step

up from the Atari 7800 controllers, but not as good as the
SNES, NES or Genesis controllers of the day. I‘m not a big
fan of numberpads in controllers, so trying to use that in
games like Alien us Predator when the action is high can
be difficult.” William Thorup, then five years old, looks
back more favorably: “In regards to its general appearance
and feel, I always thought it looked cool and felt good in

the hands. The only thing that was bad that I can remem-
ber is how quickly my thumb would wear out on games
like Raiden and Ultra Vortek. This made the D-pad feel
inferior to something like the NES and Genesis, when in
reality it was just due to pressing too hard because of frus-
tration and excitement.” Dave Taylor of id Software, re-
sponsible for sound and music in Doom and Wolfenstein
3D among others, shares memories of the uncomfortable
control pad: “The D-pad buttons felt stiff and awful to me,
and they bit into my thumbtips.”®> For other users who
were used to simpler controllers from home computers
like the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga or 8-bit consoles,
the Jaguar Joypad also seemed almost overloaded. André
Motzkus describes his experience as follows: “The Jaguar
controller was already a bit futuristic for me and rather
confusing and alienating, but I tried to come to terms with
it over time.” The press was not exactly enraptured either.
German video game magazine Maniac stated that Atari‘s
designers had probably forgotten that some games re-
quired pressing two or more fire buttons simultaneously,
which was simply not possible with the Jaguar pad.*° An-
other German magazine, Power Play, openly poked fun at
the design: “Looks like they crossed a Sega joypad with a
remote control.”®’ Atari-related publications like ST-Com-
puter at least found: “After a certain period of getting used
to it, however, the control pad proves to be very handy.”5®

The Jaguar pad had also been produced in small numbers
as “Power Pad” in the colors of the ST as well as Atari
Falcon, but it was not distributed on a large scale. In fact,

55 http://3do.cdinteractive.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3564

56 Maniac 2/94, p. 56-57, Future Shock

57 Power Play 1/94, p. 120-122, Auf leisen Pfoten

58 ST-Computer 6/94, Atari Jaguar: 64-Bit-Technologie
preiswert

it was not featured or mentioned in any more detail in
any publication until the Jaguar was introduced, and only
showed up at some retailers after the Jaguar was re-
leased.®° The exact reasons are unclear, but a faux pas on
Atari‘s side can be assumed as one of the possible reasons:
The gray controller clearly bears the name “Power Pad”,
including trademark on the original packaging. However,
this trademark was registered under the serial number
73744280 at the United States Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO) from 1988 to 2009 not for Atari, but for
Nintendo of America. This was a controller in the form of
a touch-sensitive floor mat for fitness games on the 8-bit
console NES. It is unlikely that Atari licensed the name

in order to sell a controller with this designation for its
computers. Rather, it is likely that in this case a product
name that was not yet legally protected was passed on to
production. After a first production run, the Power Pad
was probably quickly discontinued and possibly sold to
dealers as rejects to avoid a possible legal dispute with
Nintendo about the naming. Since Atari did not pursue its
own computer series in 1994, there was no further need
for a Jaguar controller in the design of the ST and Falcon

anyway.

Some game titles enhanced the controller‘s keypad with
overlays, small printed plastic foils that could be placed

59 The pad is mentioned as Falcon controller in an article about
the CeBit 1993 by Atari Online Explorer from 17.04.1993.
In the press release from 03.06.1993 with the title “Atari
launches the Jaguar, a 64-Bit Multi-Media Game System” the
Power Pad is mentioned officially for the first time, but
in connection with the Jaguar. In the Atari Online Explorer
issue of 09.07.1993 user Sam Rapp asked in a chat with Bob
Brodie when to expect the pad for the Atari Falcon and if it was
the same as for the Jaguar. Brodie replied that the pad was
identical to the Jaguar controller except for the color, but did
not specify availability.

over the numeric keypad. Small gimmicks that made it
clear at a glance which key had to be pressed to display a
map for better orientation, which shortcut keys were used
for weapon selection in shooters or how the game music
could be turned on and off. Overlays were also a relic of
days gone by: Mattel‘s Intellivision console, released in
1979, which also had a keypad, had used the same con-
cept. However, many Jaguar games didn‘t include the
colorful plastic cards in the first place: of the four launch
titles released in 1993, only Cybermorph, included with
the console, came with one.

Software Development Kit (SDK)

Much more important, however, was the question of the
development environment for the Jaguar. Would Atari
allow development only on its own ST or TT comput-
ers, with which many — especially large — studios had

no experience? Or could a PC also serve as a develop-
ment platform? Pride played a role in this question, as
Rob Lodes remembers: “When I went to work at Atari, I
had been working at Opcode before, basically the inven-
tor of DAW, and so I used my Apple Macintosh IIsi for
everything. It was only natural for me to bring it to work
and Leonard Tramiel was like “You can‘t use that here’.
Instead he forced me to use a Falcon and I ended up using
Cubase, because that, at the time, was the best sequencer
out there. But it was nowhere near what Opcode made.
And it didn‘t cost him anything to let me use my tools.
But he had this pride thing going and you had to use
Atari stuff.” As far as the SDK was concerned, only one
thing was certain: Atari lacked the resources to take care
of an adequate and extensive development environment
themselves. The Jaguar came without an operating system

and was to be programmed primarily in assembler. This
also included music creation for games, as Alexander
“LX” Rudis remembers in an interview with Atari Times:
“My perception was that they expected a hell of a lot out
of composers. I have a great deal of respect for Leonard
Tramiel who I worked directly with during the Jaguar
project, but he and I got into several heated discussions
about the composer's role in development. He had good
points, but my position was that the devtools should be
transparent or nearly so for an artist to be able to cre-

ate. His counterpoint was that if we didn‘t know how the
machines worked, our non-technical bias would result in
problematic compositions. Actually, he was right. Unfor-
tunately, there just weren‘t that many good composers
who were also computer programmers. Hubbard comes to
mind. By that time, we couldn't afford someone with that
background, that talent. [...] Leonard wanted us to appro-
priate a strict ,roll up your sleeves‘ approach for Jag music
composition. It was about using trial-and-error combined
with a more formal ,engineering‘ approach rather than
depending on automated toolsets to do the grunt work.
We did have some GUI tools for getting at the DSP synthe-
sis engine that Lynett had been contracted to provide, but
we were expected to do the charting and calculation that
enabled music/SFX to play without crashing. I knew that
[Jeff] Minter was using a ‘tracker’ converter to get the
cool techno stuff into Tempest 2000. Leonard wanted me
and my team beating hell out of the Lynett toolset, using
more ‘pure’ synthesis techniques and scripted note data to
generate music and SFX. Although part of the justification
was to save cart RAM ‘real estate’, he had a very strong
opinion that we should be pushing the synthesis capabili-

ties of the Jag.”°° One of the programmers of the puzzle
Game FlipOut!, Brian Geiger, remembers the challenges
they faced when they started development on the Jaguar:
“The thing about developing for the Jaguar is that you had
to do it all in assembly language. There was a C compiler,
but they recommended that you not use it at all or, if you
really needed to, you could generate your structure with
it, but should do all of the core development in assembly.
The difficulties were compounded by the hardware. There
were five processors on three chips. The only chip that
wasn’t completely custom for the Jaguar was a Motorola
68000 chip, if I recall correctly, and the recommendation
for that was that you use it to boot the system and then
turn it off. The problem with using the Motorola chip was
that it flooded the Bus, thus limiting the ability to trans-
fer data to and from the other processors and memory. It
took us about a week of solid work to get something other
than a black screen using the dev kit. I think the bus was
good for transferring 64-bit information around, but not
necessarily for handling multiple chips or devices at a
time.”

In search of a talented team to take on this Herculean
task, Loic Duval knew just the bunch who could help: “The
SDK of the Atari ST was terrible. The one of the Jaguar
was even worse. When I saw it for the first time, I knew
we had a huge problem. I had a meeting with Brainstorm
and then I convinced Bill Rebock and Sam Tramiel that
we should hire them to create a true SDK for Jaguar

Game Devs. But it was already quite late. Work on this
SDK should have begun two years before.” One of these
dedicated Atari enthusiasts of Brainstorm from France

60 http://www. ataritimes.com/index.php?ArticleIDX=
282#jaguar

was Raphael Lemoine. He recalls: “I and three other guys
— Alexandre Lemaresquier, Laurent Chemla, Francois
Corroyer, all programmers — created a company called
Brainstorm in 1991. During 1991/1992, we wrote utilities
and development tools for Atari ST computers, so we be-
gan to be known by Atari France, then by Atari Corp: We
wrote for them several programs, a DSP-56000 debugger
and a JPEG decoder, both for the Atari Falcon. At the end
of 1993", we received a phone call from Bill Rehbock, who
told us: ‘We have a development tool running for a new
console, but it’s running only on the Atari TT. In twelve
days — I really think it was 12 days! — we will present the
console and the SDK to several big game companies, and
we know that if this SDK doesn‘t work on PC, they won‘t
be interested in trying to develop for it. Can you have

the SDK run on DOS really quickly?” Porting an existing
software development kit in just twelve days was more
than a little challenging, especially towards the end of the
year. But Brainstorm had dedicated themselves entirely
to Atari. The task from Sunnyvale was an accolade for

the young team, but the hardware of the console seemed
rather unspectacular to them. “My first impression of the
Jaguar was ... no impression at all. For us, it was a new
hardware to work on, one year after the Falcon, but since
there was nothing nice available at that time and our job
was to write development tools, not nice graphical demos,
I remember being much more impressed by the Falcon
with its 68030/DSP56001! It wasn‘t because I felt the
Jaguar was underpowered, but I had no point of compari-
son with the Jaguar, while I knew the Atari ST/TT per-
fectly and could compare them with the Falcon,” Lemoine
61 Brainstorm was first mentioned in January 1994 in connection

with the X86 development environment for the Jaguar, Atari
Explorer Online, 22.01.1994

explains. Brainstorm ported the source code to DOS. “The
code Atari Corp. sent us was 99 percent C. The ‘SDK’ was
at this time very limited, Atari just wanted to show to
some big game companies that a source file edited from

a DOS PC could be converted to a binary and sent to the
console. As far as I remember, it was just made of Mad-
mac (a 68000 assembler) and DB (a GDB-like command-
line debugger) communicating through a parallel port. We
got all this running on DOS on schedule. So they began
asking us for some more stuff: adding GPU/DSP support
on Madmac, a port to GPU/DSP of GCC, a text-windowed
UI for the debugger, a new linker with Dwarf format sup-
port, etc. I personally worked on Madmac (added support
for the Jaguar custom chips) and on the debugger (context
switching),” Lemoine says. Thanks to Brainstorm, Atari
was able to launch the first PC developer systems in early
January 1994. Of all things, one of their later critics was
also working on its own development environment, as
Lemoine explains: “Psygnosis also began working on their
own Jaguar SDK on PC, Psy-Q, which was already avail-
able on other consoles. I don‘t know if they ever sold it,
but I remember seeing it once, in England.” After the take-
over by Sony, however, the studio presumably stopped
further development as well as planned game conversions.
According to Lemoine, the challenge of working with Atari
became apparent to his team quite early on: “The Jaguar
was fun to program for, with its Object Processor and
GPU/DSP, but not easy at all. This might have not helped
porting games from other platforms. Another possible
reason for game delays was maybe the money. Let me ex-
plain what our relation with Atari Corp was like: Usually,
when they asked something of us, we asked for a payment
like this: 1/3 when signing the contract, 1/3 when sending

the product, and the last 1/3 two weeks later, when the
product was tested and considered ok by them. However,
it was always complicated to get the last 1/3. This wasn‘t

a big deal for us, because we knew that another contract
would come soon for something else, and we would say:
‘pay us the amount you already own us before we begin
working on this new thing!’ So, we were always paid in the
end. Maybe some of the game companies had to cope with
this payment issue too. I don‘t know. This little money
issue had no impact on our relation with the Atari people
we were working with and as far as I know, they too were
pushing hard for us getting paid sooner than later. The

2 6

problem was from ‘above’.

Working on a more sophisticated PC-based SDK in paral-
lel with the development of numerous game titles that
didn‘t have access to such tools meant that while program-
mers struggled to get to grips with the hardware, they
weren't used to much else from their previous experienc-
es. Chris Brunning, who progammed the game Supercross
3D for Tiertex, recalls: “The SDK was pretty minimal, you
tended not to have much of an SDK back then. I seem to
think there was one major piece of sample code, and a few
bits and pieces. Once again about par for the time. If you
just used the 68000 it was as easy as any other system,

to get anything performant from it you needed to use the
DSP, which only had a small memory space, so things

had to be written in small pieces, and loaded to the DSP
memory and run, all of it async. That made it tricky as
there would be regular swapping of routines in and out of
the memory space. The Saturn also had multiple proces-
sors, however there wasn‘t a constant swapping of routine
in and out, so it was a little easier. The Mega Drive had

two processors also, the Z8o had a limited address range,
and I had some experience with that beforehand.” To

get to grips with the hardware, the programming teams
needed time — time that Atari didn‘t have. The Tramiels
had to release games quickly to keep the Jaguar‘s demand
consistently high.

THE CAT
WANTS TO PLAY

They weren’t trying to offer top
budget for games, they were
trying to offer low budget for
games.

Mike Beaton

Star Fox? How about a Star Jaguar?

To push the development of the new next-gen games,
Atari was looking for fresh talent. One of them was James
“Purple” Hampton, who joined Atari from Maxis. He
recalls: “While I was working at Maxis, a friend of mine I
met at LucasArts mentioned they had a sister who worked
in the business office at Atari. She introduced me to some
people who worked in the production department there,
and I chose to believe in the promise of a new game
console Atari was making, what would become the Jaguar.
As a person who grew up playing Atari games, I was
thrilled to join the company that delivered so many fun
times to me and my friends. Growing up playing video-
games with friends in the 70‘s-80‘s, seeing Atari on my
paycheck mattered for me. It was definitely on my list of
dream places to work. And coming from development
offices like LucasArts and Maxis, Atari was a bit like
stepping into a retro time machine from a more wood
paneled past. When I started at Atari, their focus was
more on the technology instead of office decor, and you
could feel the sense of urgency to manufacture a next
generation home gaming console. Atari offered me a
chance to roll up my sleeves and become a Producer and
help make some games.” But Hampton quickly discovered
that his new job at Atari turned out to be somewhat
different than he had imagined: “When I first started at
Atari in the fall of 1992, the Jaguar hardware was in
progress, however it wasn‘t quite ready for game develop-
ers to dig into it. So while the Jaguar Software Develop-
ment Kit was being created, I was assigned to work on a
handful of Lynx games, which Atari wanted to publish in
the year leading up to the launch of the Jaguar. One of
these titles was Alien us Predator, being built by Images

Software in the UK. I had some experience working with
UK developers such as Attention to Detail at Lucasfilm
Games and discovered the favorable workflow of UK
developers to US publishers.” Besides this game, which
was yet to find its way onto the Jaguar, he was primarily
working on a project that was far less to his liking: “Let‘s
just say Crescent Galaxy was my crash course in learning
how to ‘change the things I can’. The limited scope of
resources (time and budget) for the initial Jaguar games
reflected a software development strategy anchored in
how games were made in the 80‘s for consoles like the
2600 and 7800, where entire games could be made by one
or two people in a few months. The result was an overly
ambitious effort to make four games in about four or five
months with the four different programmers who worked
in the internal development department at Atari. Two of
the four projects were canceled along the way, and the
programmers reassigned to help finish the remaining two
titles. And while I was eventually able to convince Atari
management to expand the development efforts which
saved games like AvP, this new development philosophy
wasn't adopted in time for titles like CG. So while I was
able to work with talented people like Linnea Wigren to
influence the art assets on CG — I still love the look of the
pre-rendered enemies — I was not able to implement the
kind of gameplay that I wanted to play, something closer
to Galaga or R-Type.” Instead, Crescent Galaxy was given
a more classic gameplay approach, as musician Alexander
“LX” Rudis described in an interview with Atari Times: “I
can‘t speak for everyone, but Leonard [Tramiel] was pretty
old-skool regarding Crescent Galaxy. At one point I
remember complaining to him that we needed more game
design for the levels. His reply was that side scrollers were

too dynamic to justify lengthy design, that the best way to
do it was to toss a bunch of NPC scripts at the game
engine, then test hell out of the results until the team and
testers deemed the result ‘fun’.“ ** Linnea Wigren took
over as lead artist for Crescent Galaxy, while Susan
McBride was responsible for concept and story. Linnea
recalls: “I was also responsible for suggesting to a Vice
President that to achieve a competitive look we needed to
render our 3D animations as sprites. He agreed, so we
started doing that. [James] was not happy with the
direction of Crescent Galaxy. He suggested that I do not
mention the game when I was still seeking employment in
the game industry [after my job at Atari], because he
thought it would count against me.” Wigren describes the
biggest problem of Crescent Galaxy as follows: “There
were no guidelines, and I don‘t think there was much of a
stylistic vision either. The lack of design cohesiveness is a
large part of what James Hampton objected to about the
game. The story part of the game may have been another
reason he was down on the game. There wasn‘t much
story during the development and I think Trevor McFur
was thrown in at the end. I‘m pretty sure that Susan added
him to the game and perhaps to the title.” Objects and
enemies were rendered on PCs and then passed on to the
programmers. “The next job I went to had SGI worksta-
tions, I think Atari got them after I left”, explains Linnea
Wigren. Working to tight deadlines was stressful and
almost every employee also acted as a tester during the
hot period leading up to the console‘s release: “Somehow
everyone was testing a game about car racing on the
Jaguar, and everyone was sent home to function as testers
with two controllers and one Jaguar game system. One

62 http://www. ataritimes.com/index.php?ArticleIDX=
282#jaguar

controller was set up to give extra lives and cars and the
other one was set up to play the game. My young nephew
with much smaller than adult hands had no difficulty with
the controller. I didn‘t hit the new car after the crash
button quickly enough to suit him, so he took the second
controller from me and played with both effectively”,
Linnea remembers. According to Faran Thomason, things
got particularly hectic in the last few months of 1993: “In
general, there were a lot of late nights and weekends that
we worked, especially when shipping the Jaguar.” Never-
theless, the overall working atmosphere was pleasant, as
Linnea Wigren points out: “Most people were pretty
friendly with each other, often choosing to go to lunch
together. There was a Fresh Choice within easy walking
distance that was a popular lunch destination. A lot of my
best memories were the social aspects. I enjoyed the
lunches at Fresh Choice with artists and programmers,
including the part about trying to outdo each other on how
tall we could make our soft serve ice cream cones.” The
large offices with their half-height, adjustable walls
reflected the creativity of the teams working there, Faran
Thomason recalls: “The cubes were littered with all types
of pop culture paraphernalia, action figures, movie
posters, nerf guns etc. It was an exciting time, it was great
to be working with cutting-edge hardware, even with its
quirks.” Wiley Evans, who joined Atari during this time
and worked on music and sound for Crescent Galaxy,
delved into a strange-seeming Atari world in which the
company was hiring new employees but laying off many at
the same time. “I did know that Atari, at that time, was
having trouble when I showed up. It seemed like entire
teams and departments were being fired or quitting. In
retrospect, it was probably layoffs, but those types of

things weren’t common, so it was very strange that the
first floor was basically empty. The building was cool! 1194
Borregas Ave Sunnyvale. The top floor’s windows are
angled out like the top floor of an airport command tower.
And the offices and cubicles were all super modified and
decorated.” He began his work in audio production for
Atari with rather rudimentary tools: “For the first few
months I was just basically throwing sounds together with
every tone generation there was on the dev system. We
had a very primitive FM synthesis module and then some
sort of 8-bit samples and there were no developer tools for
audio. So, for the sound effects we would write config files
of data structures that set the algorithms of the FM
module. Then the game could fire off those sound effects.
Then when I came in more full time, we were working on
developing tools for the Jaguar, which was basically
standardizing a translation or parsing a midi text file into
something the C compiler could include into the game
code.” Wiley was fresh out of college, where he had
completed the California Arts Music MFA program and
had studied extensively with Morton Subotnik, Charlie
Haden, and Roscoe Mitchell. Although these impressions
certainly inspired him, he avoids the term inspiration in
this context: “It was more a matter of what we can do to
make this noise sound different. When I was getting into
the audio and music side of video games, there really
wasn't very many people with that skill set, music writing
and knowing how to dig into the bits and bytes of code.
We were being a tad more creative in the implementation
of music writing, which gave it a different flavor for the
time.” The result could be seen and heard, but the game
still seemed somewhat unfinished overall. The points criti-
cized by James Hampton were also picked up by most of

the video game press. But, according to EDGE magazine,
Crescent Galaxy nevertheless landed in the top five of the
most anticipated games at the end of 1993°, but ultimate-
ly fell far short of expectations. The German magazine
Play Time drew a parallel to the arcade classic Defender
and judged: “The approaching battalions were drawn and
animated in the highest quality, bosses look menacingly
photo-realistic, but the game concept is unfortunately
almost 14 years old.”®4 The verdict of EDGE was much
harsher: “Although visually impressive, Crescent Galaxy
is a sad attempt at a horizontally scrolling shooter. Poor
game design and weak sound send this title to the bottom
of the class. The Jaguar deserves better than this. The
levels themselves are all pretty basic in design, with only
two layers of parallax at one time, and the whole game
scrolls only horizontally. Nowadays this is barely accept-
able on a 16-bit machine, never mind a 64-bit one.”® The
comparison to 16-bit console games like Super R-Type or
Thunder Force IV, which were released in 1991 and 1992
respectively, is obvious. Unlike these, Crescent Galaxy
had no in-game music, for example. Parallax effects,
which run on several levels in outstanding shooters on 16-
bit systems and create a feeling of depth and technical
finesse, are almost completely absent here. For Atari, it
was less about taking the next step with regard to the
gaming experience and more about getting a finished
game into stores quickly while not overstretching a tight
budget. This included saving memory on the expensive
cartridges. “The backgrounds still had similar limitations
to other game platforms at the time, including a relatively
small number of tiles allowed to build them. Tiles could be

63 EDGE 1/1994, p. 17
64 Play Time 1/1994, p. 40
65 EDGE 2/1994, p. 66

reused, flipped and rotated but their number was still
small enough to be a big design constraint,” Linnea
Wigren remembers. And James Hampton adds: “Car-
tridge size was a huge budget consideration in determin-
ing the scope of what was going to get built. Any increase
in Megabyte size however had to be weighed carefully as it
added dollars of cost per game.” Crescent Galaxy was
already big enough with 2 MB, Atari decided. Every
additional rendered sprite, every new piece of music and
every additional colorful background would have needed
more memory on the cartridge. The fact that the compro-
mise between the best possible gaming experience and the
potential for savings in production turned out to be so
strikingly one-sided, especially for a next-generation
console, may be as indicative of Atari‘s precarious situa-
tion as it was of a general lack of understanding of what
went down well in the market. None of the cartridges
released for the Jaguar between 1993 and 1996 utilized
the maximum possible size of 6 MB. Atari did not even
pursue a bankswitching technique that would have made
much larger games possible. The most important thing
from the point of view of the management in Sunnyvale:
Crescent Galaxy was finished in time for the launch of the
console. The title‘s greatest achievement may be that it
made it into the novel series “Tom Clancy‘s Op Center” as
a side note. There, the author describes two supervisors
who do almost everything together: “Supervisor Stephen
Viens was an old college buddy of Matt Stoll. They‘d
graduated one and two in their MIT class, jointly held
three patents on artificial neurons for silicon brains, and
in a national mall-tour shootout were, respectively, the
number two and number one highest scorers on Jaguar‘s
Trevor McFur game. Atari executives had to agree to pay

for overtime as Stoll‘s game continued four hours past
mall closing time.”®

Cybermorph launches

The first 3D game for the Jaguar was created in a place
that was as rustic as it was unassuming: In a barn in
Warwick, England. Here, young programmers who had
formed a studio named Attention to Detail (ATD) were
working on the future for the former video game pioneer
in faraway Sunnyvale on their parents‘ property. And once
again, it was a connection to Flare Technology’‘s failed
Konix project that brought an ambitious team to Atari.
One of them, Fred Gill, recalls in the February 1994 issue
of EDGE: “The guys who designed the chipset for the
Konix designed the chipset for the Jaguar. We did a flying
carpet demo on the Konix 1 in just 11 days from having

it from scratch. It‘s a bit Zarch-like in the way the car-

pet rolls, and they liked that, so they asked us if we were
interested in doing some demos for the Jaguar chipset.
And more importantly at that time the chipset hadn‘t been
debugged. So they needed someone to find all the bugs for
them.”°’ That was in mid-1992. After that, the dev team
programmed over a year on Cybermorph, while putting
the system through its paces at the same time. Chris Gibb
explains in the same article: “We had about 12 weeks

to test and debug and see what the machine could and
couldn't do; it was a really productive time because a lot
of things came out of the hardware and we made sugges-
tions about things we'd like added.”®* Fred Gill added:
“There are a couple of bits left unused here and there in
the blitter chip, and we asked them if they could include a

66 Tom Clancy‘s Op-Center, Twenty-Six, 1995
67 EDGE 2/1994, p. 42-43
68 ibidem

mode where, when you're texture mapping, you can add

a constant value to the pixels, so it does depth-shading

— Alien us Predator uses that to great effect. They also
asked us if we had any instructions that we wanted to put
into the processors and we thought of a couple. It‘s nice
to see hardware designers listening to software people.
[...] Originally we were hoping that some of the processing
power would be left over in Jerry so that we could, say, do
the 3D rotation code in there, then Tom would start ren-
dering that while Jerry was doing sound. But as it turns
out, everything is using the DSP to its full, so there‘s no
spare memory, no spare processing power.”°? Tom was not
originally designed for texture mapping, as Fred further
explained: “The blitter has the capability to step through
an image in X and Y coordinates, independently, and

that is very good for texture-mapping. It wasn‘t designed,
though: the hardware designers were very surprised when
they saw it, but they were very glad. It‘s a side effect of
the rotation capabilities that the blitter has.””° There's a
lot going on in Cybermorph: the console processes up to
6,000 polygons per second, although the frame rate can
drop to as low as 10 fps. Meanwhile, Dave Lowe took care
of all the samples and music in the game. Shortly before
completion, something completely unexpected happened.
“We found a crash in Cybermorph about 4-6 months from
ship, which we believed was a hardware bug, not software
bug. It was very painful — I drove from Birmingham to
Cambridge every day for two weeks to work with the Flare
team to try and isolate the bug to as small a piece of code
as possible. We eventually got it down to about 15 lines of
assembler, at which point the Flare team were able to iso-
late it as a hardware bug; they managed to integrate a fix

69 ibidem
70 ibidem

into the production run; any later and it could have been
too late, or prohibitively expensive,”” Fred Gill points

out in an interview with the Retro Video Gamer Podcast.
The overlay for the controller, of all things, then caused
further delays, as Bob Brodie recalls in an interview with
Atari Explorer Online: “Cybermorph was delayed a little
bit because of problems with the keyboard overlays for
the game; the color was off at first, and then the size of the
overlay was too large. It was sitting up on the controller.”
Despite the development complications, Atari chose Cy-
bermorph as the pack-in game for the Jaguar. “It wasn’t
chosen as pack-in until the very last minute; Atari were
going to pick Trevor McFur, which had been created by
their internal team. I cannot remember when the decision
was taken that Cybermorph would be the pack-in game,
but I was onsite at Atari finishing the game with [design-
er] Stuart Tilley. We were absolutely delighted, and also
thought, naively, that we ‘were made’! I loved the hard-
ware, and we could see many opportunities to make the
game a lot faster if given time; we used those techniques
on Battlemorph, and used the extra CPU time it freed up
to make the game better,”” Fred Gill remembered.

The developers at ATD were by no means made people be-
cause of that decision. Atari sold too few consoles for that
in the Christmas season at the end of 1993. And after the
game had shipped, Atari’s next inquiry reached Fred Gill:
Aside from other game projects, it concerned a rework of
Cybermorph: “It was a sad day when we got the call asking
if we could optimise the 2 MB game to get it into 1 MB
cartridge. The reason was purely cost. Atari needed to cut

71 https://www.retrovideogamer.co.uk/rvg-interviews-fred-gill/
72 Atari Explorer Online, 02.04.1994
73 https://www.retrovideogamer.co.uk/rvg-interviews-fred-gill/

the price of the Jaguar to boost sales and a 2 MB
cartridge didn’t give them enough margin, and indeed
they may have even made a loss. It took approximately
two hours to remove enough animation data and Skylar
speech sample variations to get it to fit; whilst an interest-
ing engineering exercise, it was painful ‘mutilating’ some-
thing that we’d crafted over such a long time.””

Raiden

Atari offered gamers three space shooters at once for

the Jaguar‘s release: The 3D shooter Cybermorph, the
horizontally scrolling Trevor McFur in the Crescent
Galaxy and the vertically scrolling Raiden. But why three
space shooters for the launch? The answer to this remains
unknown. Maybe Atari didn‘t have a clear vision of which
titles they wanted to release at the launch of the console.
Maybe during the development phase these titles were
left over by chance, while other projects were cancelled.
Among them, for example, the working title Space Pi-
rate, which James Hampton describes as a Metroid-like
sidescroller. Perhaps Sam Tramiel‘s interest in this par-
ticular genre also played a role in the selection of games.
In an interview with CBS This Morning in October 1993,
he stated, according to Atari Explorer Online: “I love
Shoot‘em up games. That's what people like to play. The
big thing is to have a lot of fun with your software. That‘s
the key.”5 Consequently, those who didn‘t enjoy shoot ‘em
up games didn‘t find much to like about the early Jaguar
game lineup. However, a title like Raiden fulfilled several
points that were important for the Jaguar: It was a popu-
lar arcade title that had not yet received a faithful console
part on par with the arcade experience. In addition, the

74 https://www.retrovideogamer.co.uk/rvg-interviews-fred-gill/
75 Atari Explorer Online, AEO News Bulletin, 08.10.1993

game came from Japanese developer Seibu Kaihatsu,
showing that Atari was willing to buy Nippon licenses

— even though the Jaguar version actually came from
Imagitec Design. And third, the game proved that Atari‘s
console had no problems with screen-filling explosions

or displaying numerous sprites at once. Raiden — Atari
hoped — should be a real eye-catcher. Atari had also al-
ready commissioned ports of Raiden and Evolution Dino
Dudes for its Falcon computer. Given the need for launch
games for the Jaguar, however, a port to Atari‘s new con-
sole seemed infinitely more urgent. However, the title had
already been in the arcades for three years when it was
released. Although Raiden is one of the most successful
titles overall for Seibu Kaihatsu, and was well received in
arcades in the U.S. as well as Japan in 1990 and 1991, the
name wasn‘t enough to inspire droves of gamers in 1993
for a successful home remake. Faran Thomason explains:
“Not sure why Raiden was chosen, if I were to speculate,
it had some name-brand value and was probably cheap.”
The reaction of the press and gamers was correspond-
ingly restrained. The U.S. magazine Video Games, for
example, stated in its November 1993 issue: “While the
complete lack of slowdown and flicker makes Raiden look
great next to exisiting home versions of the game, the
relatively slow pace of the original coin-op suggests that it
should not be used as the standard against which all other
Jaguar games will be judged. We'll consider the all-new,
all-original Cybermorph to be a lot closer to the cutting
edge of the machine'‘s capabilities.””° EDGE's verdict was
much harsher: “In a move typical of the company, Atari
have taken one big step forward with the 64-bit Jaguar
hardware — and two steps back in their choice of soft-

76 Video Games — The Ultimate Gaming Magazine, 11/1993,
Atari‘s Jaguar Unleashed

ware. Following the crusty footprints of the abombinable
Crescent Galaxy, Raiden does absolutely nothing for the
Jaguar cause.”” It was based on a three-year-old arcade
game that was not state-of-the-art even in its time. Even
an almost arcade-perfect port, said EDGE, was of little
use. “The graphics are two-dimensional and many a Com-
modore 64 owner would sneer at the supposed ‘CD-qual-
ity music. [...] It's not that Raiden is a bad game; just the
wrong game.”

Alien vs Predator

The biggest wow effect for the Jaguar console, and by far
the greatest interest from press and gamers alike, was
triggered by a licensed title that Atari originally wanted to
produce for its Lynx handheld: Alien vs Predator. Despite
its enormous popularity even during early development,
the game was not intended for release in late 1993. James
Hampton explains: “AvP was not going to be a launch
title. Of course everyone wanted it to be a launch title, but
realized early on that it was going to need more time than
the extremely limited production schedule the launch
titles had. My understanding as the Producer for AvP that
it was originally slated to be published Q2/Spring of 94.”
It was one of the first games Hampton was responsible for
as a producer at Atari, initially for their Lynx handheld
console. To do this, he communicated regularly with the
development team over at Images Software in the UK. The
big distance and time difference between the American
West Coast and the United Kingdom initially made
communication difficult for him, but he soon got used to
it. As development for the Lynx dragged on, Atari eventu-
ally stopped that version as part of its restructuring

77 EDGE 3/1994, p. 57. The following quote is from the same
article.

efforts. Instead, new momentum came when Rebellion
introduced themselves to Atari and the title was dropped
almost casually in a conversation. Jon Treanor, who was
involved in Rebellion‘s negotiations with Atari at the time,
recalls: “I headed to Sunnyvale in California and I’d made
an initial contact with John Skruch. And I told him: ‘Tam
promising you not necessarily bug-free code, but well
documented code and a games company that’s a step
above the rest.’ Well, I kind of oversold it a bit, really. The
guys got very excited. I come from the film business and I
knew that Alien and Predator were pretty big. And I think
Jason [Kingsley] used to wing it a lot: ‘What if Alien met
Predator?‘ And it was kind of born from a real coffee
conversation.” Atari had the license, Rebellion had the
absolute will to deliver an impressive game for the Jaguar.
Mike Beaton, one of the game‘s programmers, explains: “I
went into the early meetings, meeting with the guys at
Atari and they were showing us the console, telling us
what it was like. And then later on we met the British chip
designers who really made the Jaguar. But I did notice
even in these early meetings that they were offering a very
low amount for what sounded and looked like it could be a
good quality console. They weren’t trying to offer top
budget for games, they were trying to offer low budget for
games. But I guess it suited Jason and Chris [Kingsley] to
get a chance to break into the business big time, which
worked out for them.” Beaton set to work drawing inspira-
tion from games like Wolfenstein, which gave a 3D
impression but actually functioned like a 2D game:
“[There] is a limited freedom of movement, you can only
move in 2D, you couldn’t tip and angle down. And because
of that, the 3D maps were less complicated than full
motion 3D. And obviously id Software brought up Doom,

because they were geniuses.” His work made a strong
impression on the hardware developers: “When John
Mathieson and Martin Brennan saw the demo of the
graphics engine I’ve done for Alien us Predator with early
graphics, they said it was the first software they've seen
that made hardware do something they didn’t realize it
could do, which I was quite pleased with. Because basi-
cally they were thinking of solid filled polygons, not
texture mapped polygons.” The photorealistic design of
the environment and characters was created while work-
ing on the game. Originally, Rebellion hired 2D graphic
artists for the pixel art, but was not satisfied with the
result: “We started off doing the art [for AvP] in standard
pixel art and the 3D was impressive, but the art didn’t look
that good and it certainly didn’t look as ‘in your face’ as
the id Software art. At some point, I think it was Jason,
was like: ‘We’re gonna go and bloody buy some bits and
pieces and I show you what I want it to look like.’ So he
bought a facehugger model from some toy store and built
things on physical panels and took photos of them. And
then we started using that in the game and it really looked
awesome, actually. So all the texture maps weren’t done
by artists, they were made and then photographed. And
that was one of the things that gave the game its quite
unique look.” What also benefited the game was the
console‘s hardware. At the time, PCs still had no dedicated
GPUs, but CPUs were just fast enough to allow them to
render 3D at an acceptable frame rate. The fact that
Beaton was able to work with specialized chips that did
much of the work for the main processor, he saw as pure
luxury. But work on AvP turned out to be much more
difficult and protracted than anticipated. After a first
demo was shown at the press conference in August 1993,

Atari showed a more advanced, but still unfinished
version of the game during the Winter CES 1994. AvP was
still supposed to be released in the second quarter of 1994
— but it took much longer. James Hampton explains: “I
wasn't part of the initial contract negotiations with
Rebellion to make AvP, but it did suffer the consequences
of underestimating just how much time and resources
would be needed to make games for a new gaming con-
sole. And for AvP, this meant that all the development
dollars allocated in the original contact were spent long
before the game was finished. Shortly after being shown at
the Winter CES in January 1994, the game reached an
early pre-alpha state. Around this time the funds from the
original contract had been used up, and I was contacted
by the AvP programmers letting me know that they
weren't getting paid. This motivated me to get Sam
Tramiel involved, and we worked out a solution where the
programmers would come to the Atari headquarters in
Sunnyvale, California, and spend the Summer of “94
working alongside the Atari level designers, audio depart-
ment and Jaguar hardware engineers to finish the game in
time for its release in the fall of ‘94 — just in time for the
holidays.” Mike Beaton remembers: “There was definitely
a problem with overrunning. Many games overrun. I
found that in the games industry, having worked on
games that got finished made you highly employable,
nobody looked afterwards if they overrun. The mere fact
that it got finished was enough. There was an issue that
Atari were like: “This isn’t getting done’, and that was the
point at which we brought Andrew Whittaker, now Jane
Whittaker, on board, because we needed to put more
resources into it. And then initially the thought was: ‘Let’s
put more resources into it in the UK’, but after this it was:

‘This is still not getting done, we got to fly Mike and
Andrew over to Sunnyvale!’ It was to be closer to the
producer to be overseen and,” he adds jokingly, “to be
locked in a lightless room and whipped until we got it
done.” However, their work in the U.S. was characterized
by slight tensions at the beginning. “James Hampton is a
nice and pleasant guy personally, but there was some
tension between the Rebellion side and the Atari side.
Because basically we did all the programming and all the
art to get it to a stage where everyone was really interested
in it. But then it wasn’t finished and they were getting
stressed, they had to fly us over and they were sort of
wondering: ‘Is there some ulterior motive why Rebellion is
not finishing the game?’ When we first got over there, it
was like: ‘What’s going on, why isn’t this game done,
you're making us look bad!’ There was some suspision as
to what was going on. But there wasn’t anything going on
other than the game was overrunning. From their point of
view it was the right thing to do to get us over there.
Ultimately, they realized that there was no ulterior motive
and nothing sinister, it was just that the game wasn’t done
and probably, as is often true, there is a certain time in
games where you perhaps need to lock the programmers
in lightless rooms and don’t let them out until things are
done, and that’s what they did, and it did get done.” All
stress aside, Beaton also enjoyed some nice aspects of the
new workplace: “One of the advantages was that when I
was there, I met Jeff Minter, who had always been a sort
of hero. He was working on Tempest 2000 back then.” But
the situation was not equally relaxed for both AvP pro-
grammers, as Mike Beaton recalls: “At a certain point
Andrew got really stressed and wanted to go back to his
parents [in the UK], and we still needed to get the game

finished. So I ended up going to Andrew’s house and we
were still both programming it there. I remember at one
point, and this is literally true, I ended up programming
for 72 hours without sleeping, trying to get the heads up
display finished and polished.” In the credits of the game,
the last acknowledgement commemorates the home work
of the two programmers. The credits read, “Special
Thanks to: The Whittaker family.”

Working with the new console and its modern architec-
ture was an exciting challenge for the programming team.
While Beaton had previously gained programming experi-
ence exclusively in assembler, the Jaguar required a new
approach in parts: “I think that Alien vs Predator was one
of the first games I wrote where any of it was done not in
assembly. A bunch of it was done in C. I think the main
game engine and the stuff that controlled everything and
the game logic was done in C and then that would launch
something on the processors. The stuff for Tom and Jerry
needed to be coded in assembly. I would occasionally find
hardware bugs where it didn’t work as expected and re-
ported them to Martin [Brennan] and John [Mathieson].
They were always sceptical at first and then said: ‘Oh, I
see what you mean.’ The GPU had some clever instruc-
tion prefetch, but it turned out that in some weird cases,
the prefetch went wrong. If you had a branch, then the
prefetch wouldn’t work, so you had to put a NOP instruc-
tion before the branch. I remember being stuck on that for
a while. There was a much more obscure one about differ-
ent colors when you were doing stuff in low color, I think
four colors didn’t work like they were supposed to. It was
low level programming in the instruction for their system,
but it wasn’t as different as programming other 3D games

then.” The fact that the Jaguar had a 68000 processor
didn‘t bother Beaton; on the contrary. “In a 3D game,

the vast majority of the time is being spent doing the 3D.
If you've got hardware that’s speeding up 3D, it doesn’t
really matter if the main processor isn’t particularly fast,
it’s still gonna be fast enough to do the game calcula-
tion, because the game calculations aren’t particularly
complicated and not processor intensive, not compared
to 3D. So it was fast enough.” Overall, he was taken with
Atari‘s hardware then as now, despite the bugs, which he
said always had a solution. The problem was rather on a
completely different level: “The Jaguar was a really good
machine, it could easily have been a really successful next
generation machine in terms of its hardware. If Atari had
understood that the games were the business model and
invested appropriately, then those hardware bugs could
have been found earlier, they could have had more launch
games, that‘s what they could have done differently.”
James Hampton recalls the structural problems in the
approach to new game development at Atari: “Leonard
Tramiel was very involved with the launch titles for the
Jaguar in that as he led up the technology development
efforts at Atari, he and his department determined what
tools and resources were made available to the develop-
ment teams tasked with building the initial batch of games
that were to be ready at launch. Leonard certainly had his
own ideas on how development should be done, and this
influence had consequences for all the games being made.
He had some pretty high standards and wanted to see if
the development community could prove themselves and
reach the high bar that he set. I personally found working
with Leonard to be an enlightening force of nature to work
beside. His ferocious passion for what he was building was

intense! That said, the scope of the work of making games
for a brand new system was probably more than what
could be achieved in time for the launch of the system.
Coming from the legacy of the Atari 2600 and 7800 days,
there was a certain reluctance to let go of the idea that
games could be made in a relatively short amount of time
with very few people. And the efforts were following the
traditions of the 2600 era whereas the programmers de-
termined almost every aspect of the games.” Nevertheless,
Hampton managed to convince his boss of the importance
of AvP and to ask for more time for development: “T ulti-
mately reported directly to Sam Tramiel, who was a brass-
tacks, get-it-done kind of businessman. I appreciated his
willingness to learn about how software development was
done at the places that I had worked at LucasArts and
Maxis, and saw first hand as he evolved his thinking on
what it took to make a top tier title when he gave Alien us
Predator the extra time, resources and cartridge space to
make it the best game it could be.” When the game was
released in 1994, just in time for the Christmas season, the
response was overwhelmingly positive — with one excep-
tion, as Mike Beaton points out: “When AvP did come
out, almost all the magazines gave it glowing reviews,
except for EDGE, who gave it four [out of ten]. And I know
exactly why that was. Because EDGE had come around
and seen our early demos and said: ‘This is amazing, this
is going to be the coolest game ever!’ And then it didn’t
come out. And by the time it came out, they felt a bit like
they had been let down by being late. They had already
seen all the stuff that made them go ‘wow!’ And then they
were saying: ‘We said ‘wow!’ a year ago, but that’s not
how we're seeing it now, and it’s a year late.’ They weren’t
viewing it the way everyone else viewed it.” Nevertheless,

the game became the biggest commercial success on the
platform. James Hampton: “I was told that AvP was the
best selling game for the Jaguar, however the exact num-
ber sold was information that wasn‘t widely circulated
inside the offices at Atari, so I only know that it performed
very well and was a leading title for the system.” Accord-
ing to Atari‘s internal documents, which were temporarily
available on the Atarimuseum.com website, the company
had invested a total of about $225,000 in the develop-
ment of Alien vs Predator and was planning to produce
an expanded CD conversion at least until August 1995,
which would have required the same amount of capital
again. According to another internal document dated
April 30, 1995, Atari sold a total of just over 52,000 copies
of the game by that time, which equated to sales of about
$2.4 million. Alien us Predator was without question the
system seller for the Jaguar and remained the best-selling
game for the console.

SHOWTIME

Atari was a legend in the gaming
business. It was kind of like if
the Rolling Stones had another
album. It’s gotta be looked at.

Jon Treanor

Summer CES 1993

There was no big trade show for video games in the U.S.
in 1993. At that time, new consoles and games still cel-
ebrated their premieres at the Consumer Electronics
Show, or CES for short, which took place twice a year. The
trade show that summer was no exception and had a lot
to offer passionate joypad jockeys. Ocean, for example,
had set up a large archway modeled after the entrance to
the dinosaur world in the Hollywood blockbuster Juras-
sic Park. The movie had opened on June 11 and the game
for Nintendo‘s Super NES was to follow in October of that
year. Right next door, visitors had a hard time missing
Nintendo‘s booth: It looked as if someone had erected a
radar dome in the middle of the exhibition hall. At the
entrance to this was a huge sign advertising Nintendo‘s
new SuperFX chip and the titles Super Mario All Stars,
TraX and StarFox. A five-meter-high inflatable figure of
Yoshi, with Mario sitting on his back, also made it clear
who was king in this hall. Nintendo had every reason to
be proud: At this CES, the Japanese company celebrated
the sale of 100 million Mario game cartridges since 1981
— including his first appearance in Donkey Kong. In addi-
tion, a Goomba from the Super Mario movie, which was
released at the end of May, roamed the exhibition hall.

At the booth of publisher Acclaim Entertainment, a huge
video wall celebrated hits like Mortal Kombat and WWF
Wrestle Mania: Steel Cage Challenge. Sega promoted
Sonic Spinball, among other things, and caused a stir with
its own Jurassic Park game for its Genesis console, which
was scheduled for release two months after the show.
Clips from the Sonic cartoon series that ran across the big
screens at the booth reminded visitors and competitors
how popular the company’s blue mascot was. And an area

of the booth, accessible only to select guests, let interested
parties take a peek into the future: Sega VR was the name
of the virtual reality helmet that Sega wanted to use to
give the competition a run for their money. The era of
16-bit consoles seemed anything but over. In the midst of
the hype surrounding Mario and Sonic, a new challenger
emerged on the fringes of the show that had not yet dared
to take the stage.

Rumble in the Jungle

On June 3, 1993, the first day of the Summer CES, Atari
issued a press release declaring that it would be releasing
its console predator later that year. The announcement
promised nothing less than a revolution: “The Atari Jag-
uar, housed in a futuristic casing, is an interactive multi-
media system based on an Atari-designed proprietary
64-bit RISC processor. The 64-bit system is four times the
technology currently seen in the market today. The Atari
Jaguar features over 16 million colors in 24-bit true color
graphics and produces shaded 3-D polygons to be ma-
nipulated in a ‘real’ world in real time. The Atari Jaguar
also has real time texture mapping and creates spectacu-
lar video effects,” the text read. The new console should
also leave the competition far behind in terms of sound
quality with 16-bit stereo CD sound. Future-proof connec-
tions to the outside world — including cable and telephone
networks, digital audio accessories and even DAT players
— were to be provided, as was a double-speed CD player
that was to support audio CDs, CD+G (for karaoke) and
Kodak‘s new photo CD format. “The Atari Jaguar system
will revolutionize the state of home entertainment as we
see it today,” Atari president Sam Tramiel stated whole-
heartedly in the press release, adding: “The idea of a 64-

Bit system is earthshattering and kids and adults will be
amazed at both the imagery and manipulative capabilities.
And we are proud that our entry into the multi-media en-
tertainment category will be fully made in America.” And
all that at a targeted sales price of $200. Sam Tramiel was
very serious about the Jaguar, as Loic Duval, then Tech-
nichal Manager France and Developer Suppport Europe at
Atari, remembers: “Sam was fully managing the company
at that time and Jack was no more involved in everyday
operations or products launch. Somehow, Jaguar was

‘his baby’. He was passionate about 3D capabilities and
was pretty sure 3D rendering would transform the future
of gaming, but also the future of industries like medical
imaging.” In terms of games, Atari relied on its arcade
past and announced 3D reinterpretations of well-known
titles like Battlezone and Tempest, as well as the first-per-
son shooter Alien us Predator and a Formula 1 game that
graphically strongly reminded of Sega‘s Virtua Racing. An
interesting lineup, of which, however, little was to be seen
at the fair itself. According to Bob Brodie, the response
was extremely positive: “At CES virtually every major
retailer indicated that they are very interested in carry-
ing the Jaguar. We are finalizing our sales plans on the
Jaguar, and are already in discussions with many of those
retailers.””* Atari left open at this point whether Japanese
companies like Capcom or Konami would develop for the
machine. When asked if Atari considered support of third
party developers important at all, Brodie answered eva-
sively: “We consider them very important to the market,
and while I cannot confirm or deny any of the names that
you‘ve mentioned at this point in time, we will be doing
press releases later on as to who some of the strategic

78 Atari Explorer Online, 08.08.1993
95

partners are that we have enlisted for software develop-
ment on the Jaguar.””? But that didn‘t stop the slowly
starting media hype. The big cat was officially out of the
bag, the retailers were on board, the game titles seemed
interesting enough for the launch even without third-party
support, and the price-performance ratio was excellent. So
it almost seemed like a casual remark when Sam Tramiel
announced that the console would be released in limited
quantities only in the New York and San Francisco test
markets for the holiday shopping season. Bob Brodie ex-
plained this decision: “It is a densely populated area, with
terrific media exposure that makes it easy to both sell and
promote a product greatly, rather than doing a big rollout
all over the U.S.”®° The parallel to the Lynx debut in 1989
was almost obvious: Atari started its handheld console
roll-out in the New York test market, too; back then, they
had only ordered 50,000 units for the Christmas season,
and back then, more than 90 percent of them were sold
within a month. Within the following year, ten times more
Atari handhelds had already been sold — and Atari saw

no reason in 1993 why this success story should not be
repeated with the Jaguar.

With its announcement, Atari had also raised the inter-
est of Nintendo and Sega. Both already had an idea of
what the Jaguar was all about through connections to the
developers. But since the Tramiels had kept a low profile
at CES in Chicago, it was not yet possible to definitively
assess how serious the threat actually was. After all, while
Atari was a bedrock in the industry, it was also a dinosaur.
The company from Sunnyvale had not competed in the
16-bit console battle. Their last console was the XE Game

79 ibidem
80 Atari Explorer Online, 08.08.1993

System, which lost by a wide margin to the NES in 1987.
Sales of the console lagged behind even Atari‘s own sys-
tems, such as the 2600 and 7800, which consistently sold
better until production ceased in 1992. In addition, Atari‘s
war chest was anything but well-filled: While Nintendo
and Sega were making millions in profits, Atari had been
steadily losing ground in the computer and console busi-
ness since 1990, as well as losing hundreds of millions of
dollars due to a bad investment in a computer store chain.
Nevertheless, the new console could become dangerous

to the top dogs. Jon Treanor, who together with Jason
Kingsley brought the development of the titles Checkered
Flag and Alien vs Predator to England, sums it up like
this: “Atari was a legend in the gaming business. It was
kind of like if the Rolling Stones had another album. It’s
gotta be looked at.” But just a few weeks after the CES an-
nouncement, quarterly results for the period ending June
30, 1993, showed that Atari had a lot on its plate. Net sales
from that period were $5.7 million, down from $23.3 mil-
lion in the same period a year earlier. To be sure, the net
loss of $6.6 million was much milder than the $39.7 mil-
lion Sunnyvale posted in the second quarter of 1992. Still,
Atari was far from profitable. Sam Tramiel asserted: “The
company has focused all of its efforts on the development
and launch of its new multi-media video entertainment
system called Jaguar, which will be launched in the fourth
quarter of this year in the New York and San Francisco
markets,” to which he felt it important to add: “We have
approximately $35 million in cash.”*

Showtime!
Seating for around 35 journalists, two large and one small

81 Atari Explorer Online, 04.09.1993
97

TV set, an overhead projector, two PCs, canapés and mod-
est floral decorations: that was the picture that presented
itself to the invited press representatives at 1196 Borregas
Avenue in Sunnyvale on August 18, 1993. It could just

as easily have been a break during a seminar for sales
representatives or insurance agents. Hardly anything
indicated that the next generation of consoles was being
unveiled here. The core team around Sam, Leonard and
Garry Tramiel wore black shirts with the red Jaguar let-
tering on the back and left chest. As the room slowly filled,
bass-heavy asteroid explosions from the demo of the game
Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy thundered through
the room. The mood among the Atari team was joyful.
Finally they were allowed to show the world what they
had been working on for so long. Besides representatives
of game publications, there were also journalists from
daily newspapers and magazines. With their suits and
ties, they clearly stood out among the other shirt-sleeved
game journalists and the shirt-wearing Atari employees.
Sam Tramiel welcomed the attendees and introduced the
presentation with a plea: “We want to dispell all these lies
about the Jaguar. We will show why Jaguar is a 64-bit
system and not two 32-bit chips running in parallel.”®?

It was the first official presentation of the console, and
already the president of the company felt the need to

start with a defensive statement. This assertion, spread
by 3DO boss Trip Hawkins, had hurt Atari. The console
was not even on the market when rumors circulated that
Atari wanted to deceive consumers with a marketing
trick. According to Tramiel, Hawkins‘ claim, which he
took up, came from telephone conversations with analysts
82 All quotes from this first press conference of the Jaguar were

taken from the video filmed at the event by Atari Explorer
Online.

and a software newsletter. The Atari boss did not tire of
emphasizing that the Jaguar was indeed a 64-bit RISC
architecture, which the company had been developing

for two years. “If you follow Hawkins‘ logic and add the
bits of all processors in the system,” Tramiel continued,
“the Jaguar is rather a 240-bit machine. We have five
processors,” he emphasized. In addition to the Jaguar's
graphics and sound capabilities, he couldn't resist taking
a side swipe at the competition: “It has more than 100
Megabytes per second bus bandwidth. If you make the
comparision: A Sega and a Super Nintendo has got one
megabit per second.” Compared to Hawkins’ 3DO with

a retail price of $700 and due to the technical superior-
ity over Sega and Nintendo at an attractive price, Atari
saw itself in a very good position to conquer large market
shares, according to Sam Tramiel. The slides that were
projected onto the wall during his speech were to visualize
his messages concisely. To illustrate the Jaguar‘s superi-
ority, one slide showed a simple chart with game console
prices plotted on the X-axis and bit count on the Y-axis. At
$700 and 32-bit, the 3DO was quite far to the right of the
chart, while the 16-bit Super NES and Sega Genesis were
attractively priced between $100 and $200, but couldn‘t
match the Jaguar‘s performance. The latter was enthroned
at the very top left at $200 and 64-bit. This slide was the
culmination of two convictions at Atari: The old “Power
without the price” motto met here with the conviction,
which also originated from Atari‘s computer heyday, that
a potent hardware alone was able to convince buyers. Bill
Rehbock, Vice President Software Business Development,
remembers the target group in retrospect: “To a large ex-
tent it came down to seeking an audience that appreciated
the — in many ways — superior tech and features.” Tramiel

proved just how much Atari still functioned as a computer
company in its thought patterns with his subsequent
statement that the Jaguar was to become the industry
standard for interactive multi-media performance. How
exactly a console was to set an industry standard in the
video game business, which had never experienced the
like even under Nintendo‘s dominance, Tramiel did not
explain. An interactive multimedia player was at the same
time a declaration of war against electronics giants like
Philips, whose CD-i system was trying to establish itself in
this market segment. Nonetheless, he emphasized that af-
ter the successful launch of the console at the end of 1993,
Atari would not only start nationwide sales from January
of the following year, but would develop strong third-par-
ty software licenses. Developers from England, Germany,
France and the USA were already on board — Japanese
developers, however, he did not mention.

Then followed Leonard Tramiel, who briefly explained the
hardware structure and the interaction of the five proces-
sors, before Richard Miller, Vice President of Technology,
directed the attention of the journalists to three pictures
on the wall next to them, which most of them had care-
lessly passed by when entering the conference room. One
of the pictures showed the inside of the so-called Combo
chip from 1990, which combined three important custom
ICs of the Atari ST computers in its 80,000 transistors.
Next to it hung close-ups of the Tom and Jerry chips,
which formed the real heart of the Atari Jaguar, both
clocked at 26.59 MHz. Jerry was developed on the basis
of submicron CMOS, triple-metal technology and houses
about 600,000 transistors. Inside, 8k zero waitstate
SRAM ensures that the processor does not have to access

100

the system bus too often. Tom counts around 750,000
transistors and has to make do with 4k SRAM, offers a
line buffer for the Object Processor and still has room for
a blitter. Miller also casually explained that Atari believes
there is still too much white space between the transis-
tors in these chips, which took three years to develop.

In the future, they should become even more compact,

he claimed. Then he turned to his notes, from which he
subsequently read: “The Jaguar is probably the most
aggressive development project we’ve ever worked on
here. We never believed in launching incrementally better
designs. We really have to make quantum leaps in per-
formance. And if you don’t push the envelope, the prod-
uct won’t succeed and it certainly won’t survive. You're
looking for a product that’s gonna survive for the next ten
years.” Ten years was an eternity in the computer world.
A decade roughly covers the time span from the market
launch of the first Commdore 64 to the presentation of the
first Pentium PC. Even in the video game world, product
cycles are usually only about half as long. Miller may have
been thinking more of Atari‘s 2600, which lasted a proud
fifteen years in the market, or Nintendo‘s NES, which had
been available in the U.S. for eight years at the time of this
conference. Perhaps he was hinting that the Jaguar would
follow in those big footsteps. But Atari‘s technology chief
didn‘t elaborate, instead concluding his remarks with

the words: “Consumer electronics are really pushing the
frontiers of electronics today as hard as workstations and
the defense industries were yesterday. Except for us it’s
even harder because consumers are even more demand-
ing. They expect much better quality, lower prices and
higher performance. And they’re really not interested in
any excuses to the contrary. There are no excuses at all in

101

the Jaguar system.” As it should turn out within just a few
months, there were quite a few.

With the technical aspects surrounding the next-gen-
eration console thus covered, Sam Tramiel turned the
attention of the press to the marketing in the New York
and San Francisco test markets. “Those two market places
are around ten percent of the U.S. population”, he said.
And they planned to make these areas curious about the
Jaguar with copious advertising on various channels: on
television, in video game magazines and in comic books.
Atari budgeted $3 million dollars for this in the fourth
quarter of 1993, with ads planned so that 80 percent of
the target audience would see the 64-bit console three
times or more. For the nationwide advertising, Tramiel
budgeted $45 million over the course of a year: “We plan
to advertise and market Jaguar very, very heavy. We real-
ize that was a weakness we had in the past, and we try to
rectify that.” This is an important hint in view of the fact
that Atari often spared with widely spread advertising for
its products on TV, in cinemas or in print media in the
past and left the stage to others instead. According to a
report in Forbes Magazine titled “Cheap didn‘t sell”, this
was most recently the case even with Atari‘s originally
promising Game Boy competitor Lynx: “Even after cutting
Lynx’s price to $99 from $179 to get closer to Game Boy’s
$89, Atari again went the cheap route and spent virtu-
ally nothing on national advertising. Result: Today [1992]
Game Boy has 81% of the market and is sold in 16,000
outlets. That compared to 3% for Lynx, available in fewer
than 3,000 stores.”®3

83 Forbes Magazine, 03.08.1992, Cheap didn’t sell, p. 51+
102

To underline the future capability of the Jaguar, Atari‘s
president announced further peripherals. He named a CD
drive as the first and most important add-on. Only with
this could Atari‘s promise of an interactive multimedia
player be fulfilled, including full motion video on CD and a
MPEG2 module. He pointed to the console standing next
to him: A CD top loader was plugged onto the flat Jaguar
base unit. In this way, the cartridge-based console and its
CD add-on joined together to form a modular system, as
Sega used for its MegaCD-Genesis combination. On top
of that, Tramiel promised a true virtual reality experience
for mid-1994, and said that the CD drive should be avail-
able in the second quarter for around $200. Just how far
ahead of the competition from 3DO, Nintendo and Sega
they were in many areas with this was supposed to get
clearer by a detailed tabular overview that the overhead
projector threw onto a white wall. It read: ,,[The Jaguar] is
a hundred times more powerful than Super Nintendo and
Genesis, it has more than twice the performance of 3DO
at less than one third of the price. [...] The software that
can be developed with this system will bring us closer to
reality, which means we can escape to some phenomenal
worlds when we play on Jaguar. We’re gonna have shaded
3D polygons and a 3D world in real time.“

Three of the five game titles announced for the console‘s
launch showed just what that could look like. The lights
in the room dimmed as game designer Susan McBride
stepped up next to one of the large televisions and intro-
duced Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy. Countless
SLR cameras simultaneously tried to capture the action
on the screen as McBride steered her spaceship through a
horizontally scrolling level filled with asteroids and other

103

alien threats, shooting down enemies. She described the
enemies as 3D objects, though they were actually pre-ren-
dered two-dimensional animated sprites — but that didn‘t
make it any less impressive. Here, for the first time, jour-
nalists saw 24-bit graphics that neither Super NES nor
Genesis could deliver. The level bosses looked particularly
oppulent. “Notice the 3D huge capability graphic power of
this system. No system that I have ever seen is able to do
this”, McBride pointed out proudly. She spoke of real-time
texture mapping, detailed animations, and unusual shapes
of creatures. The demonstration lasted only a few minutes,
but when it was done, journalists applauded for the first
time during this conference. Next up was Alien vs Preda-
tor, a licensed title from 20th Century Fox that Rebellion
developed for Atari in the UK and the U-.S.. Producer
James Hampton took over the joypad and steered the
virtual Colonial Marine through narrow corridors from a
first-person perspective while explaining that you could
also play as an Alien as well as a Predator here, gaining
very different gameplay experiences. He distracted from
the lack of enemies in this early version with a joke: “We
would show you the Alien us Predator fighting sequence,
but it came too early in the morning for the press confer-
ence, so we decided gore of this realistic nature couldn’t
be seen before lunchtime.” The joke was on point, the
press representatives laughed merrily. And the fully
textured 3D world didn‘t miss its mark, as the applause
afterwards made clear. Something like this had never been
seen on a console before. Even on the PC, the mother of all
first person shooters had not yet been released: Doom was
not scheduled for release until December of the same year.
The effect that Alien vs Predator had to have on those
present can therefore hardly be overstated.

104

The third game Atari showed was Cybermorph, which un-
like the previous two titles was not played on a cartridge
Jaguar, but on an Atari TT developer system. “We're using
a 3D polygon world rendered in realtime,” emphasized
one of the developers. The demo lasted little more than
two minutes, the small PC monitor was not easily visible
to many of the journalists present, and the image was not
transmitted to any of the larger screens. It also did not
help that the developer spoke facing away from the press
and without a microphone. At the end of this short inter-
lude, there was a crash and Sam Tramiel‘s confession that
the speed of this game would cause him motionsickness. It
was the weakest presentation among the three titles, and
instead of applause there were only some quiet giggles.
One of the three games shown, Sam Tramiel explained
later, would be bundled with the console. Which one it
would be was not yet decided. By the end of 1994, at least
50 games should be available — conservatively estimated,
as Tramiel emphasized.

Atari‘s first presentation of the Jaguar to the press was
over after less than 45 minutes. The majority of this time
was taken up by explaining the technical background as
well as the planned marketing activities. The three games
shown, which only flickered across the screens for a few
minutes each, seemed more like tech demos. They gave

a glimpse of what seemed to be possible — and that was
quite effective: huge pre-rendered sprites flying rapidly
across the screen in masses, a fully textured 3D world the
likes of which had not even been seen on PCs before, and
polygon graphics generated in real time. However, during
the gameplay presentation, nothing could be heard of the
heavily advertised CD sound, which would probably have

105

been best underscored by a snappy soundtrack. After the
lights were turned back on, the Q&A session for journal-
ists began. All seats were occupied, some press represen-
tatives had to stand. When asked, Sam Tramiel explained
that Atari wanted to sell 50,000 consoles in 1993 and
about half a million by the end of 1994 in the U.S. alone,
push the handheld Lynx together with the Jaguar and
hoped to profitable as soon as possible. “Obviously we’re
putting a lot of our emphasis behind Jaguar. I would guess
that in 1994 our sales will be well over 80 percent in the
game business with Jaguar and Lynx,” he stated. When
asked by a journalist why Atari referred to 3DO so often,
he explained that they were simply responding to specula-
tion spread by Trip Hawkins. But even if their console was
close to the Jaguar in technical terms, Atari considered
itself primarily as a competitor to Sega and Nintendo.
And Tramiel responded to the question of why Atari had
not shown a working Jaguar at CES: “We didn’t have final
Jaguars working with the PCB working properly. I wanted
to show you a real working system, not these development
systems, and we had two glitches about a month ago,
which pulled us down. But it has not affected our manu-
facutring schedule.” Glitches, however, that would indeed
have far-reaching implications for production, as would
become apparent.

Sky high

A few months later, Atari had come up with something
special for its official presentation of the Jaguar. The 64-
bit console was to be given an appearance that would re-
main in the memory of the invited guests for a long time.
A skyscraper instead of a meeting room, a menu instead of
snacks, New York instead of Sunnyvale: On November 4,

106

Atari welcomed more than 300 guests in the Time & Life
Building on West 50th Street in the heart of New York
City. An impressive 48-story building inaugurated by
none other than Marilyn Monroe. “A building provided
free of charge by Warner,” recalls Jean Richen, then
managing director of Atari France, who was also one of
the guests. And a fitting choice for Atari. Because like the
company itself, the skyscraper combined various ele-
ments of the modern and the past. In 1980, when Atari
still ruled the video game world, the Time & Life Building
received electric cooling in addition to the steam turbine-
powered chillers that had been in place since 1959 to
keep the 48-story building cool. By the early 1990s, the
skyscraper, like Atari, had seen better days. At the very
top, on the way to the Tower Suite, Atari had built a small
jungle: A fog machine spat light-gray swaths through

an arrangement of tropical green and bamboo. In addi-
tion, animal noises were heard that made attendees feel
like they were in the Amazon: shrill birds, loud chirping
insects, monkeys, wild cat cries. What a contrast to Atari‘s
rather dull press conference just a few months ago. Men
and women in black leather and jaguar costumes crept
around the guests like in an amusement park. Dancers

in Jaguar costumes performed in two cages, and on the
walls all around were ten kiosks with Jaguar consoles and
games. A woman with a green face and bald head kept a
Jaguar-costumed pilot company for a photo together with
Jack Tramiel: characters from the launch titles Cyber-
morph and Crecent Galaxy. Atari did not want to neglect
the Lynx on this occasion: Six kiosks ran current games
for the Game Boy competitor. Large TV screens showed

a selection of commercials that Atari would broadcast in
the test markets. Plenty of bombast had been mustered

107

to send a clear message: Atari was very serious about the
Jaguar. And it was important to the Tramiels that this
message also reached the visitors. For among them were
not only some representatives of the video game press,
but also brokers, bankers, potential investors, dignitaries,
buyers from large chains such as Toys “R” Us, journalists
from the daily press and television as well as represen-
tatives from IBM, Philips, Motorola and Time Warner.
For all of them, Sam Tramiel had a particularly impor-
tant message that evening when he explained that Atari
had been able to attract numerous new developers to its
Jaguar: Accolade, Gremlin Graphics, Interplay, Micro-
prose, Millenium, UBI Soft and Virgin. A big show that
did not miss its effect, as the New York Times reported at
the end of November: “Atari went through some investor
excitement when it displayed its advanced 64-bit Jaguar
system in New York City recently. Its stock, which had
been trading at about $4 in September, rose to more than
$11, then settled at $9 yesterday.”*4 A big show, during
which employees with EPROM chips in their pockets,
which had been hastily burned during the day, ran around
and showed the interested guests the latest versions of
games like Alien vs Predator. Not all testers and develop-
ers were invited to New York. But there was an equally
fun consolation for them, Faran Thomason recalls: “I was
not important enough to go to the party in New York. But
all the testers got to Disneyland after the first few games
and hardware went to manufacturing.” That evening, high
above New York, Atari had showed that they would still be
a force to be reckoned with — even though there wasn't a
single Jaguar for sale at the event. EDGE magazine wrote
in its January 1994 issue: “We were there, cash in hand,

84 New York Times, 30.11.1993, John Markoff, Market Place: In
video games, a couple of U.S. dark horses have risky appeal

108

ready to pay. But was there a Jaguar to be had? Was there
hell. New York and San Francisco would have to wait just
a while longer for their shipment ...“°5 Sam Tramiel had
declared in his speech on that evening that Atari would
become the spearhead of the gaming revolution. The
buffet was not the only place where a lot of money was
spent, and for one evening all those present were able to
ignore the fact that Atari was not starting from the pole
position in this technological race, but from the last row.
The company with the fuji logo was struggling in terms of
personnel and finances. Of the company’s 133 employees,
43 worked in development, 38 in marketing, seven in
purchasing, and 45 in administration and management.*°
News about red figures should not cover the positive press
at the launch, so Atari postponed the release of its quar-
terly report from late September to early December — be-
cause of the hectic Christmas business, they said officially.
The press and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
were skeptical. Indeed, the release of quarterly results

on December 2 painted a less-than-pleasing picture: net
revenue had fallen to a meager $4.4 million, and the net
loss was $17.6 million. Atari‘s future was tied, for better
or worse, to the future of the Jaguar. And for the market-
ing department, that meant generating as many positive
headlines as possible for the 1993 Christmas season.

Comdex

IBM, Apple, Digital Equipment Corporation, Microsoft

— every big player in the computer business met at Com-
dex. It was the world‘s largest computer show — and from
November 15 to 19, 1993, it was held in Las Vegas under a
motto that had gone from a mere buzzword to real busi-

85 EDGE 1/1993, p. 9
86 Atari Annual Report 1993, p. 9

109

ness: multimedia. The competition for the best hardware
architecture and software in this promising market had
begun. But one thing seemed clear: multimedia without
the shimmering silver compact disc had become unthink-
able. The CD was the format of choice when it came to au-
dio and full-screen video. Thanks to MPEG compression,
moving picture quality was also improving, and more and
longer video sequences could be stored on a CD. Pana-
sonic, for example, showed the first multimedia notebook
with an integrated CD-ROM drive. Apple, IBM and Mo-
torola threw their weight around to promote the PowerPC
as a competitor to Intel‘s Pentium. At Big Blue‘s booth,
everything revolved around the new RISC-based processor
architecture. It enabled true multitasking, the last great
domain of the Commodore Amiga just a few years earlier.
“One of the goals of the PowerPC microprocessor is to
provide a lot of that graphical function and DSP-like func-
tion along with calculating and executing the programs
that are running,” explained Paul Ledak, microprocessor
development manager at IBM, on the Comdex special
broadcast of the Computer Chronicles television series.
Right there, among all the PowerPC desktop computers,
Thinkpads with Intel processors, and Pentium upgrade
solutions for owners of 486 computers at IBM‘s booth,
some Atari Jaguar consoles hid in the OEM section. Albert
Dayes recalled: “Most people were quite impressed with
the Jaguar and with good reason. The speed of texture
mapped graphics really drew quite a crowd. There were
also several IBM employees from the different divisions
that were very interested in the Jaguar. Some from the
PowerPC division were more interested in discussing the
technical merits of the chip set. There were others from
Motorola and other IBM divisions that were also very

110

impressed with the chip set. [...] Two representatives from
the Microsoft Advanced Projects Group were very inter-
ested in getting Jaguar development units. They already
had 3DO units in the lab and wanted to the get Jaguar units
right away.”°” The console blended seemingly seamlessly
with the modern PC technology around it. With its RISC
architecture, the sleek black Jaguar seemed perfectly posi-
tioned for the future as a low-cost, entry-level multimedia
system in the slipstream of the more powerful PowerPCs.
With so much interest in Atari‘s Jaguar among IBM employ-
ees alone, Travis Guy joked in the editorial of Atari Explorer
Online: “Tf all Atari did was to sell Jaguars to IBM employ-
ees, they‘d still have a minor hit on their hands!”**

Media response

Atari‘s press conference subsequently did not gener-

ate the big headlines in the daily press that might have
been hoped for in Sunnyvale. Nevertheless, newspapers
and even television covered the Jaguar. In early Octo-
ber, CBS This Morning ran a short program about future
video game consoles. Herb Weisbaum, who had made a
name for himself as a “consumer correspondent” over the
past few years and was very popular with viewers, intro-
duced the two devices. His assessment of new products
was always in demand, as he himself once half-jokingly
explained: “When I go in the grocery store, it always
seems somebody is watching — if I pick one toothpaste
over another, or choose a spaghetti sauce in my shop-
ping cart, someone is sure to ask me if I think that‘s the
best — and why!”®? In this case, however, it was a lot more

87 Atari Explorer Online, 23.11.1993
88 Atari Explorer Online, 23.11.1993
89 The Seatle Times, 29.07.1990, Weisbaum Regarded As A

Consumer Champion

111

money than you would spend on a pasta sauce. The show
started with Weisbaum next to a 3DO console. After a
brief introduction, Atari‘s Jaguar got plenty of spotlight.
Weisbaum introduced the console as “an even more pow-
erful system.” Gameplay videos of Trevor McFur in the
Crescent Galaxy, Cybermorph and Raiden were played
and Sam Tramiel happily explained: “I love shoot‘em up
games. That‘s what people like to play. The big thing is

to have a lot of fun with your software. That's the key.“
Glenn Rubenstein, who wrote about video games for the
San Francisco Examiner, was able to try it himself and
was thrilled: “For 250 dollars, I‘m very impressed with the
Jaguar. I would actually spend my own money. Nota lot
of journalists would say that about a product, but I would
actually go out and buy a Jaguar.” Travis Guy, editor of
the online publication Atari Explorer Online, asked Weis-
baum after the broadcast how he would choose between
3DO and Jaguar. But he dismissed the choice because he
lacked the expertise: “At this moment, I have trouble play-
ing Pong.”°° A pre-Christmas edition of CNN‘s Moneyline
program declared the Atari Jaguar the technology top

gun over the 3DO console, which also had problems with
its game lineup. The Jaguar, the report said, was twice as
powerful as the 3DO and cost a lot less. Atari‘s marketing
claims, it seemed, had resonated in the press. In late No-
vember, the New York Times paid tribute to the Tramiels
in an article that said their marketing strategy had worked
well, and another television host touted the new console:
“Atari won an important public relations coup last week
when Andy Parr, the ‘gadget guru’ of television‘s ‘Today’
show, dubbed Jaguar the hottest system this Christmas.”
The video game press also responded overwhelmingly

90 Atari Explorer Online, 08.10.1993, News Bulletin
o1 The New York Times, 30.11.1993

112

positively to the Jaguar. Those of the journalists who were
able to get a picture of Atari‘s feline predator on site were
impressed. “For all the mistakes Atari has made in recent
years, there‘s one thing you have to hand it to the Cali-
fornians: They can design hardware,” stated the German
magazine Video Games, for example.%? At the same time,
the editors were cautiously optimistic about the console‘s
prospects for success: “Without great games, the best
hardware flops, great graphics don‘t make a good game.
[...] Konami and consorts will think twice before investing
in Nintendo’‘s arch enemy Atari or rather rely on secure
income from the licensing business with the Japanese.”
For the German market, the video games editors saw
problems coming for other reasons: “Furthermore, Atari
has ruined its reputation with many large department
stores and mail-order companies and alienated the once-
loyal retailers in droves. So the software problem could be
joined by a distribution problem.” The mixture of enthusi-
asm about the new technology and skepticism about Atari
was also reflected in other magazines. “The Atari Jaguar is
a jewel of a machine,” said the biggest video game maga-
zine in the U.S. at the time, Computer Gaming World, ina
report about all the competing consoles. Their conclusion
was: “Not only does Atari have to overcome the stigma of
its name (lack of marketing and customer support, as well
as poor developer relations in the past), but it has to prove
that its machine is superior — in a hurry! 3DO launched
ahead of Atari and is poised for an avalanche of software
support to appear in the next twelve months. Atari ven-
tured late into third party software support and it could be
the third quarter of 1994 before it has a sufficient number
of software titles on the shelf. Also, Atari relied heavily

92 Video Games 12-1993, p. 18+
113

on tried-and-true video game developers [...] rather than
reaching out into the ranks of computer game developers
where more sophisticated designs could tempt the early
adopters.”°3 Electronic Games co-founder Joyce Worley
picked up the keys and wrote enthusiastically for the first
impression of the Jaguar in the September issue of the
magazine: “Atari says there‘s never been anything like it,
and we believe it,” adding: “Big game hunters will hear
this cat coming” and “Get ready for the roar!” The games
shown during the press conference, on the other hand,
were received differently. Among others, the editors of
CGW were not particularly impressed by Trevor McFur:
“Our initial perception is that it is a pretty typical scroll-
ing, shooting action game. The good news is that the boss
monsters are done using extremely effective 3D render-
ing.” Alien us Predator, on the other hand, was the great
hope. Bill Kunkel, one of the first video game journalists
in the business since the end of the 70s, was more inter-
ested in the potential of the console in the November issue
of Electronic Games, which was hinted at by the presenta-
tion shown by Trevor McFur: “This won't set the world
on fire, but it does begin to show what the Jaguar can
actually do, and does so with alarming speed and fluid-
ity.”°° Also, while Alien vs Predator seemed like one of the
most important games for the new console, it still seemed
a bit shallow to him: “Unfortunately, the object graphics
have a disappointingly flat, unrealistic look to them. The
hallways look like mediocre paintings of hallways, rather
than actual corridors.” Cybermorph was the title he liked
the most: “The real-time polygon animation is really quite

93 Computer Gaming World, 1/1994, p. 74
94 Electronic Games 9/1993, p. 30

95 Computer Gaming World 1/1994, p. 74
96 Electronic Games 11/1993, p. 44-45

114

impressive.” Still, he made it clear that only third-party
publisher support could make the Jaguar the hottest new
console on the market. Die Hard Gamefan, on the other
hand, was optimistic about this point: “By the time a
system as powerful as the Jaguar comes out it will have
been in developers hands for some time and should have
an impressive library of quality software in place.”*” The
British, Atari-affiliated magazine ST Action, on the other
hand, raved: “Super smooth and fast 24-bit graphics, com-
bined with stereo 16-bit sound will make [Trevor McFur]
an instant hit,” and praised the texture mapping-packed
Alien vs Predator as “extremely smooth and slick.”%*

Atari had managed to skilfully present itself with a small
team and despite limited financial resources. The team
around Sam Tramiel did not succeed in removing all
doubts, however. But the admission of past mistakes, the
consistently praised hardware of the console and the vis-
ibly starting marketing measures were enough to ignite
the embers of hope that Atari could make it once more.
For shareholders willing to take risks, the company with
the fuji logo was considered a “dark horse”, an underdog
with potential. Gamers expected an interesting perspec-
tive for future games with 64-bit power. How interesting
the console could become for retailers and developers
remained to be seen. The best opportunity for this was a
sensational Christmas business in the test markets. There
it would be decided whether Atari could beat the compe-
tition. San Francisco and New York — if you can make it
there, you'll make it anywhere.

97 Die Hard Gamefan, 10/1993, p. 130+
98 ST Action 12/1993, p. 4-7

115

Sam Tramiel at the press conference on August 18, 1993. Behind him
stands Susan McBride (Trevor McFur). This image was taken from the
video Atari Explorer Online filmed at the event in Sunnyvale.

Below: Atari’s headquarters at Borregas Avenue 1196 in Sunnyvale. Pic-
ture from: Happy Computer 9/1986, Computer-Schmiede »Atari-Lab«.

116

64-BIT
(Big ~=—s BLOCK DIAGRAM
H BUS

TIMERS @ UART
JOYSTICKS
CLOCK CONTROL

JOYSTICK
CONTROLLER
VIDEO

CARTRIDGE
CD-ROM

i _ eee ; JA ATARI

Block Diagram of Jaguar‘s 64-bit system bus and chips as it was shown
to journalists by Sam Tramiel during the press conference on August 18,
1993. The image shown here has been touched-up for better reading by
Fabien Sanglard for his book “Game Engine Black Book — Doom’, p. 299.

117

ALL | WANT
FOR CHRISTMAS

We upset a lot of parents and
they went for their kids’ second
choice, so the orders were can-
celled by the time more stock
became available.

Darryl Still

118

Christmas is traditionally one of the busiest times in

the video game calendar. Months in advance, it’s often
decided who will make it onto kids‘ wish lists. And for
Christmas 1993, there were plenty of choices for game-
savvy youngsters. For Monday, September 13, Acclaim
and Midway had proclaimed “Mortal Monday”. From that
day on, the console conversion of the arcade hit Mortal
Kombat was available for the Nintendo SNES and Sega
Genesis. Publisher Acclaim pumped millions of dollars
into the marketing of its anticipated bestseller in the
form of cinema spots, prime-time television commercials,
magazine advertising and nationwide sweepstakes.” But
the best publicity was the public discussion of violence

in games, reflected in phrases like those of Senator John
Lieberman: “We're talking about video games that glorify
violence and teach children to enjoy inflicting the most
gruesome forms of cruelty imaginable.”?°° This only fueled
the kids‘ desire to have this awful title at all costs. Mortal
Kombat became a real box office hit thanks in no small
part to this additional publicity. Hugues Johnson, who
worked at a branch of Electronics Boutique in Gurnee,
Illinois, as a 17-year-old at the time, recalls on his web-
site: “The controversy around the violent content only
fueled sales. Senator Joseph Lieberman sold more copies
of Mortal Kombat than every video game store employee
combined.”

Nintendo also came up trumps in the battle for wish lists,
directly attacking its competitor Sega and its advertising
slogan “Welcome to the next level” in a spacey commercial

99 New York Times, 16.09.1993, Video Violence: It‘s Hot!
It's Mortal! It‘s Kombat!

100 New York Times, 08.03.2018, When Mortal Kombat Came
Under Congressional Scrutiny

101 https://huguesjohnson.com/features/loser_phase/1993.html

119

for its latest game Star Fox, with the central question be-
ing: “Why go to the next level when you can go lightyears
beyond?” At least since CES, the Super NES had been all
about the SuperFX chip that made fast polygons possible
on the 16-bit console. The animal heroes in Star Fox of-
fered a 3D space adventure that was well worth seeing.
Even more: Nintendo impressively showed that the days
of the Super NES were far from numbered. Those who
didn‘t want to go quite so high into the sky could look for-
ward to the role-playing game Secret of Mana from Japa-
nese developer Square, which also appeared exclusively
on Nintendo‘s console. And those who had seen Jurassic
Park in theaters, one of the most successful films of 1993,
naturally looked forward to the video game adaptations of
this blockbuster for Nintendo and Sega. But in 1993, one
game especially showed that the video game industry had
become a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment
industry: Street Fighter IT clearly surpassed the box-of-
fice success of Jurassic Park. “One single game — Street
Fighter II — made $1.5 billion last year [1993]. Nothing,
not even Jurassic Park, touched that success in the en-
tertainment business”, explained screenwriter Michael
Backes, who was involved in the dino action spectacle as
a creative consultant for Michael Crichton, among others,
and incidentally built another bridge between Hollywood
and the video game industry in 1993 as co-founder of
Rocketscience Games. With Street Fighter IT Turbo for
the SNES, Nintendo was able to make up some ground
on the weaker Mortal Kombat implementation compared
to the Genesis. In total, all home adaptations of Street
Fighter IT sold around ten million copies worldwide by the
end of 1993. Even the then ancient Commodore 64 got an

102 Jeffrey H. Goldstein: Why We Watch: The Attractions of
Violent Entertainment, ,,.Immortal Kombat“

120

official release. And there was more: playable adaptations
of popular TV shows were provided by Disney‘s Aladdin
for the Sega Genesis, among others, which was amazingly
similar to the cartoon thanks to a detailed design that
convinced with excellent gameplay.

So there were plenty of reasons for Sega and Nintendo
game fans to stock up on their own cartridge library with
the help of the Christmas wish list. And what about Atari?
Chris Johnston wrote in the Paradox Video Game Fan-
zine in 1993: “I may not be a consultant, but I‘m going to
advise Atari about the Jaguar. First of all, when introduc-
ing a new system, you've got to have a great pack-in game.
That‘s the entire selling point of your system. The pack-in
game for the Jaguar better be spectacular. And I‘m not
talking Tempest 2000, even though that may be a good
game. I‘m talking about the #2 arcade game through 1992
and ‘93. I‘m talking Mortal Kombat! What other game
has challenged Capcom‘s Street Fighter IT and has been
programmed in the USA? Midway is the greatest coin-op
producer in America, and I suggest you form some sort of
partnership-licensing agreement with them.“°3 But Atari
had nothing of the sort to offer and instead relied mainly
on in-house developments. There was neither a deal with
Midway, nor licenses from Capcom or Konami. At the
beginning of November 1993, Atari asked Konami for the
first time if they would be interested in developing games
for the Jaguar — but a contract was never signed.'°4 Pete
Stone, European Consumer Manager at Konami, elabo-
rated on his company‘s skepticism when speaking with
EDGE: “It‘s not about technology, it‘s about marketing.
103 Paradox Video Game Fanzine Issue 13, September 1993

104 E-Mail from J. Patton to Steve Jackson (Konami USA) from
22.10.1993, found in the Atari HQ Archive #1 CD by B&C

121

Coming up with the best machine just isn‘t good enough.
The Jaguar stacks up pretty well against 3DO, but it‘s clear
that Atari haven‘t got the finance or worldwide muscle to
really compete.” Joe Morici, then Senior Vice President
of sales at Capcom in the U.S., recalls that this studio also
had no interest in developing for the Jaguar: “Atari did
approach Capcom, but we decided not to proceed. Capcom
saw that retailers and many developers were not support-
ing the system. Even though the hardware was better,
Atari’s reputation at that time was poor.” And John Gil-
lin, former director of marketing consumer & CoinOp at
Capcom, adds: “I do not remember any discussions about
Street Fighter II being ported to the Jaguar system.” Bob
Brodie provided a possible clue to the failure of these
discussions in early February 1994: “We have had some
very serious discussions with Capcom. They are very, very
interested in the Jaguar at this point in time. But so far,
they haven't signed. It might be that they are just waiting
for us to hit a certain installed base before they sign on

to develop.”?°° Despite the universally praised hardware,
Atari could not convince these developer studios of the
Jaguar. Whether the response of the two studios would
have been different at an earlier time is doubtful. Konami
and Capcom had very close ties to Nintendo since the
NES days. Even for Sega‘s Genesis, several Konami titles
only appeared from 1992 onwards, while Capcom had
already ventured onto Sega‘s 16-bit console with one or
two titles in the early 90s. The financial risk of developing
games for a new system whose future was still unknown,
and thus taking the additional risk of possible disgruntle-
ment on Nintendo‘s part, didn‘t seem to be very lucrative
for either of them. So for Christmas 1993 there was no

105 EDGE 2/1994, p. 36-41
106 Atari Explorer Online, 06.02.1994

122

chance for the Jaguar to feature any game by one of these
strong Japanese brands. And some Western Developers
were cautious as well. Asked if Elite IT might make an ap-
pearance on the Jaguar, David Braben told EDGE: “Not
planned, as yet. I‘m always quite cynical about Atari be-
cause at the moment the Atari name doesn‘t really inspire
confidence. It‘s not a criticism of the machine. For some-
one like me, getting something up and running on CD32 is
easy and any time spent isn‘t wasted. The Jaguar is a very
different machine, and as much as it would be great to do
something on an exciting machine like that, well, there are
always new machines on the horizon.”!””

A little advertising, few games

The lack of games was compounded by Atari‘s financial
situation. With only a three million dollar advertising
budget for its console, the company had budgeted less
than a third of what Acclaim had spent to promote a single
game. Moreover, the Jaguar TV spots did not run until

the second half of November 1993. Outside of New York
and San Francisco, the Jaguar did not get much media
coverage. Bleak prospects for scoring points in the battle
for Christmas wishlists. Atari users who had seen Jaguar
commercials on television during animated series such

as Batman and Highlander, as well as Star Trek — The
Next Generation, among others, spoke out on Usenet.
Three different spots under the slogan “Get bit by Jaguar!”
were intended to appeal to the young target audience. In
the first, a group of teenagers gets into an elevator while
an off-screen voice asks: “Looking for video games on a
higher level?” The elevator stops on the 16th floor, the
doors open to reveal brief SNES and Genesis game scenes.

107 EDGE 2/1994, p. 84
123

“At only 16-bits you'll find Nintendo and Sega,” the
speaker comments. The young crowd in the elevator is not
very enthusiastic about this view, they sigh in disappoint-
ment and continue their ride up. On the 32nd floor, the
elevator stops briefly, but the doors do not open. Instead,
the elevator races from there to the 64th floor, while the
announcer comments, “Let‘s go where no one's ever been
before! Jaguar by Atari!” The elevator door opens and the
kids are dazzled by game scenes from Cybermorph and
Trevor McFur. “The only video game system with 64-bits
of mega power. Get bit by Jaguar!” the voiceover drones as
the teens storm out of the elevator to rocking guitar riffs.
Another commercial focuses entirely on Cybermorph. A
teenager, introduced as Benjamin Hall, apparently puts
the game Cybermorph into his Jaguar for the first time.
To snappy music, he steers the spaceship through the
polygon landscape in quick cutscenes, while the camera
keeps switching between game scenes and a rotating
children‘s room, where Ben enthusiastically operates the
control pad. When the narrator asks the player how this
64-megapower experience felt, he vomits right into the
camera. “Get bit by Jaguar!” is the message at the end

of this spot, too. In the third commercial, a comic news-
caster declares: “We must warn you about Jaguar, a new
video game system too powerful for home use!” While
game scenes of Trevor McFur and Cybermorph play in
the background and the speaker is about to say something
about “irresponsible action,” a drawn Jaguar jumps out of
the screen and swallows him whole. This spot also ends
with “Get bit by Jaguar!” Double-page ads in video game
magazines such as Gamepro, Video Game and Electronic
Gaming Monthly pick up on the drawn Jaguar from the
TV ad, providing some recognition, stating: “We're chew-

124

ing up the competition bit by bit.” Most importantly, the
large-format ads make a statement to Atari fans. “Atari

is advertising. That in itself is already an improvement
over the past,”*°° stated Robert A. Jung in the ST Usenet
group, for example. Outside of a sworn Atari fan commu-
nity, however, the enthusiasm for the Jaguar games didn‘t
really seem to catch on. Trevor McFur and Cybermorph
apparently had little appeal in comparison to Star Fox.
The three-year-old arcade hit Raiden certainly was a solid
conversion of the arcade original from 1990, but was no
longer that popular among gamers. With Evolution Dino
Dudes, Atari finally offered a game for younger gamers
that was only a marginal improvement on the existing
home computer conversion called The Humans from
1992. Thus Christmas 1993 was a tough season for Atari.
The hardware had received unanimous approval and Atari
had once again made a name for itself. Now it was up to
the games to deliver on the lofty promise of 64-bit gaming
experience. At the same time, the price of the console had
increased by $50 compared to the first announcement:
gamers had to spend $250 instead of $200 dollars for the
ticket to the world of 64-bit games.

Where can I buy a Jaguar again?

But anyone who wanted to buy a Jaguar in 1993 needed
not only the necessary pocket money, but also a lot of
luck. Marion Cyrus Martin was one of the lucky early
adopters and remembers: “I preordered a Jaguar at
launch and picked mine up from Babbages at the mall in
Killeen, Texas. I was absolutely in love with the idea of a
64-bit console made by Atari. I have owned a lot of game
consoles over the years. My first was the Intellivision and

108 https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.atari.st/c/
YaEQmcT_hD8/m/8f8xGFbNi3gJ

125

then the Atari 2600. We later moved on to NES, Genesis,
TurboGrafx 16 and SNES and then IJ actually sold my
SNES with all the games including my Super Scope so that
I could buy the Jaguar. I had read about it in magazines.

I used to be subscribed to Electronic Gaming Monthly,
Game Pro and Video Games and Computer Entertainment
so I read about video games constantly. I was very excited
about the Jaguar when I read about it and wanted to get
it as soon as it arrived. The articles I read and advertise-
ments were enough to convince me. I thought that it was
going to be the next big thing. The idea of a 64-bit game
console was just mind blowing to me.“ But by no means
everyone who wanted to buy a Jaguar actually got one
before Christmas 1993. Marlin Bates from Stockton in
California was one of them and remembers: “I actually
bought my Jaguar directly from Donald Thomas via Atari.
He offered pre-orders to everyone who wanted one. Then
Atari took all of the units they promised him and shipped
them to stores because they were short on retail units.
After having paid six months in advance for my Jaguar, I
had to wait two weeks after launch to actually get it. Not
his fault at all. He lived in a town next to mine and he
would give me head‘s up on stuff when Atari was sell-

ing things.” Mike Littau, then a student at Oregon State
University in Corvallis, also bought his Jaguar from the
same source: “I recall ordering mine via mail order from
Atari, dealing directly with Don Thomas as well, who I
remember did great customer service! My first console
failed (red screen of death) but they were able to replace
it with a working unit which I still have.” Those who did
not buy their Jaguar from Atari itself, but looked for it

in stores, were not always lucky. Reed Hubbard stated

on Usenet on November 19, 1993: “I went to Babbages

126

tonight and they said that the Jaguar will not be available
to the U.S. buying public until just after Thanksgiving
(Nov. 25 to you non-yanks). The initial rollout was strictly
to dealers and wholesalers.”*°? And Christine A. Webb
was still wondering on Usenet on December 15 where the
Jaguar was in stores: “It was supposed to be at the Gar-
land Incredible Universe store the week before Thanks-
giving. Haven't seen it yet. I‘m the secretary of the North
Texas Atari User‘s Group and we've got an inside line into
when it will be there. So far, nada. In fact, several of our
members have pre-paid for one at the Arlington store with
no luck.“"° Atari had problems even in the test markets

to quickly get enough units into the stores. An additional
reason for this, besides problems with IBM and getting
enough working chips, was the included antenna connec-
tion boxes. Atari Explorer Online explained: “It seems that
the RF switchboxes that Atari bought to include with the
first shipments of Jags were causing horrific amounts of
interference on the video displays. [...] The result is Atari
held up shipments of Jaguars until they could secure new
autoswitching RF boxes.”™ The included switchbox ap-
parently caused such severe image distortions that some
critics and disappointed customers publicly rumored that
Atari must have used leftover stock from its old 2600 con-
soles. But in fact, there were probably quality problems at
the supplier in question, as Bob Brodie explained: “Upon
investigation, we discovered that some of the RF switch-
boxes, which were supplied by an outside vendor, did not
meet our specifications. We stopped shipping Jaguars
briefly in order to remove the defective switchboxes, while

109 https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.atari.st/c/
6VLJPoUhHGo/m/rAkyfz-x5beJ

110 https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.atari.st/c/
YaEQmcT_hD8/m/Wqeb8OkyvU8J

111 Atari Explorer Online, 07.12.1993

127

we acquired an acceptable replacement unit. The new RF
switch box is upgraded from the initial RF box, in that it

is an auto switching unit.”"? Not including an S-Video or
RGB cable with a next-gen console for the best possible
picture quality was sharply condemned by the German
video game magazine Maniac: “Maniac considers it [...]

an impertinence to ship such a high-quality console with

a TV cable that produces blurry pictures.”"3 While the
delivery in the U.S. was delayed, European Atari fans were
left virtually empty-handed. Darryl Still, then marketing
manager at Atari UK, remembers: “We were expecting
25,000 units in the UK and had pre-orders for most.“ But
less than ten percent of the promised devices arrived in
the UK on time. “The chip manufacture issue was the ma-
jor reason we were given. But the issue was that we missed
the opportunity. We upset a lot of parents and they went
for their kids’ second choice, so the orders were cancelled
by the time more stock became available,” he remembers.

The Lynx Connection

Atari wanted to use the growing interest in the Jaguar to
give its Lynx console a fresh boost as well. In fact, Bob
Brodie stated quite openly in an online chat in September
1993: “There is no question that we will be using the Jag-
uar as a leverage tool to also place the Lynx in the stores.
But we also have to be mindful that the entire handheld
business is just 17 percent of the total video game market.
So we're not going to be shipping Lynxes in to the stores
on a 1:1 basis with the Jaguar. BTW, we haven't had a
single retailer tell us they don‘t want to do business with
us on the Jaguar ... they have all told us that they want to

112 ibidem
113 Maniac 2/1994, p. 56-57, Future Shock

128

sell the product.”"* However, success failed to materialize,
as EDGE magazine wrote in February 1994: “According

to sources in the U.S., Atari‘s distribution policy leaves
something to be desired. Apparently, tactless sales reps
have been giving videogame stores an ultimatum: ‘Unless
you continue to stock the Lynx and software, you can‘t
have the Jaguar’, they‘ve been saying. “Well, in that case,
you can take your Lynx and your Jaguar, and shove it
where the sun don‘t shine’, has been the typical response.
The Lynx is a dead system in the U.S. and, sensibly
enough, most stores would rather devote the shelf space to
other systems.”"5

The first Christmas for the Jaguar turned into a debacle
for Atari. Instead of the targeted 50,000 consoles, the
company delivered only about 17,000 to the U.S. and Eu-
rope by the end of December, according to its own annual
report for the fiscal year 1993. One of the reasons for this,
in addition to problems with chip production, was de-
layed production at IBM. Numerous online serial number
overviews of Jaguar consoles in collectors‘ hands suggest,
based on the production times described therein, that the
console did not come off the production line until Novem-
ber 1993. In the fourth quarter, Atari‘s new 64-bit console
— including sales of the four games released by the end

of the year — earned a total of $3.8 million.“° Production
and delivery difficulties had ensured that the console was
scarce for its debut. If it was to have another chance, 1994
had to become the year of the Jaguar.

114 Atari Explorer Online, 04.09.1993
115 EDGE 2/1994, p. 10-11
116 Atari Annual Report 1993, p. 14

129

WE'RE CHEWING UP THE

A id ‘ M
TREVOR McFUR in the CRESCENT GALAXY™
available now coming soon

CHECKERED FLAG™ CYBERMORPH™
coming soon available now

ATARI

60600000

INTERACT EVIE MUD TIM ED A, S¥ Ss TEM

Atari, the Atari logo, Jaguar and the Jaguar logo are ™ or ® of Atari Corporation. © 1993 Atari Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1302. All rights reserved.
Cybermorph, Checkered Flag and Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy are trademarks of Atari Corporation, All rights reserved. TINY TOON ADVENTURES, characters,
names and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Brothers, licensed to Atari Corporation © 1993. Raiden® is licensed to Atari Corporation by Fabtek®, ©1993
Yoshi's Cookie ts a trademark of Nintendo of America Inc.© 1992, 1993 Nintendo of America Inc. Mario is a trademark of Nintendo of America Inc. All rights reserved.
Sonic the Hedgehog™ is a registered trademark of SEGA of America, Inc. All rights reserved.

130

OMPETITION BIT

TINY TOONS™

coming soon

Here’s something to

multimedia

system has a mind
blowing 64 bits of
power, compared
to a wimpy 16 bits
for the competition. 64 bits means 16 million
colors in a 3D world. Breakneck speeds. Cat-like
control. And special effects like you see in the movies.

How does it sound? Well, if this ad had a volume
button your mother would be yelling at you to turn
it down. Car crashes, alien screeches, jet engines
and other bone rattling stereo CD quality sounds
will make you jump out of your seat.

When you do, make sure to run to the nearest
store. Everyone else will be there chomping at the
bit to buy one.

What we're really saying is Jaguar’s 64 bits eats the
competition alive. Sink your teeth into it and you'll
see what we mean. Get Bit by Jaguar.™

131

THE COMPETITION
NEVER SLEEPS

I thought Jaguar was nice tech- \

nology, but too expensive.

Tom Kalinske 9 9

Sega seeks an answer

At the 1994 Winter CES in Las Vegas, Sega showed a
glimpse of the future: the image of the upcoming Sat-

urn console flickered across the booth‘s giant video wall,
framed by impressive 3D animations and game scenes.
But the impressive presentation could not hide the fact
that the next-gen console was far from ready for the
American market. At the same time, Sega had taken a very
close look at the competition from Atari, as Scot Bayless,
Senior Producer at Sega of America at the time, recalls:
“The leadership team at Sega of America had been look-
ing at Jaguar for quite some time already, so we were
pretty familiar with its capabilities.” The U.S. office wasn‘t
too impressed by the price of the console, recalls former
Sega U.S. chief Tom Kalinske: “I thought Jaguar was nice
technology, but too expensive.” Bayless adds: “I thought
Jaguar also had a ton of potential. But it wasn‘t used very
effectively. So my reaction resolved to, ‘Man we could

do that so much better ...”” But real concern about the
competition from Sunnyvale grew in Japan. “Essentially,
his [Mr. Nakayama’s] concern was that Saturn, which was
still in early development, would be too late to the market
to counter what he saw as a rapidly looming shift to 3D,”
Scot Bayless remembers. And after Atari announced a
victory over the 3DO console after Christmas 1993, Sega
CEO Nakayama was apparently growing concerned. His
company needed an answer to the Jaguar quickly, ac-
cording to Nakayama. “Atari had just taken on a bunch of
new funding and, at the time, Sony was the company that
made TVs and tape players”, says Bayless. So Nakayama
called the Sega team during Winter CES 1994 to tell them
his decision that they needed to respond to the Jaguar

as soon as possible with a new product: “Nakayama-san

133

set up a call with Joe Miller, who headed SOA product
development at the time and Joe asked Marty Franz, Ed
Annunziata and myself to join in the call. I believe Shi-
nobu Toyoda was also present. Notice that, at the time

of the call, Jaguar had been in the market for a couple of
months. PlayStation hadn‘t been announced yet. On the
call, Marty suggested that a simple architecture backed by
copious high-speed memory and extremely fast proces-
sors could vastly outperform Jaguar and likely anything
Nintendo or anyone else was working on. Miller and
Nakayama found that idea compelling and we literally
sketched what became 32X on a napkin in Joe's suite.”

So Atari‘s Jaguar provoked the development of the 32X
expansion for Sega’s Genesis. Bayless sums it up as fol-
lows: “What is ironic about the original 32X design is that
it was architecturally similar to modern GPUs — very fast
RAM being managed by very fast processors that excel at
MUL, DIV and ADD operations running in parallel. The
problem was that, when the design went to SOJ for manu-
facturability review, it had to be significantly modified for
cost reasons. The result was a pale shadow of the original.
Consequently, the 32X lost any hope of being able to sig-
nificantly outperform the competition. In retrospect, Sega
committed three blunders simultaneously. We all had
some hand in it, but the big strategic errors originated in
Japan. However, collectively, we at Sega made the follow-
ing strategic errors:

1. Failing to identify the real threat, which was PlaySta-
tion. To be fair, Sony was being very careful about leaks.
But we knew teams who were working on development
kits and tech demos. We were also losing some people

to Sony recruitment. We should have realized what that
meant sooner than we did.

134

2. Scaling back the 32X design. We should have either
gone for it and scrapped Saturn, throwing everything we
had at making 32X into a truly modern GPU-based sys-
tem, or we should have dropped it and focused on making
sure Saturn was the king of 3D. The original design of
32X would have made PlayStation look pathetic. But that
design never even got to prototype.

3. Attempting to wedge 32X in between Genesis and
Saturn. It was a device without a niche and the result was
easy to predict. In fact, many of us at SOA, myself includ-
ed, saw this coming and tried to get 32X killed because

we knew that nobody would buy an expensive and not
especially performant peripheral. So we correctly saw the
3D revolution coming, but we wildly overestimated Atari‘s
ability to exploit it and pathetically underestimated Sony’‘s
ability to field the console that actually brought the 3D
revolution to life.”

A first look at the PlayStation

An incalculable threat was added by Sony‘s announcement
to enter the video game market. In a developer conference
held at its European headquarters in London in December
1993, Sony had unveiled its PlayStation on the Old Conti-
nent for the first time. No fewer than 100 developers were
present, including Jez San from Argonaut, who had devel-
oped the SuperFX chip for the Super NES with his team.
“Jez said he didn’t believe it was running on the hardware
and that it was on a Silicon Graphics workstation, and

we had to take him to the side of the room to show him
what it was running on,””” recalls Phil Harrison, who was
responsible for Sony‘s European publishing business at

117 https://web.archive.org/web/20090502102412/http://

www.edge-online.com/magazine/the-making-of-
playstation?page=0,0

135

the time, in a 2009 EDGE Magazine article. Against this
background it almost sounds like a bad joke that the same
Phil Harrison complained in an article in the very same
magazine in early 1994 that he had been ignored by Atari:
“Nobody has spoken to me. They haven‘t even been cour-
teous enough to invite me to developers‘ conferences, and
I'm certainly not going to spend my time chasing them.
I‘m not even sure who to speak to there. But, to be honest,
I really don‘t think we're missing out.”™® It was hard for
developers and journalists not to get excited about what
Sony‘s new console promised. At the Winter CES 1994, the
first demo of a racing game could already be seen, as well
as a T-Rex head — Jurassic Park says hello — that could

be turned with the controller. The console itself was still
slumbering in an unspectacular beige case the size of a
PC. But Sony was already in close contact with developers
at that time and promised them a wide range of software
tools to help them with programming. The Japanese elec-
tronics giant, which had ended its 1992 fiscal year with net
sales of more than $28 billion, was eyed critically by other
market players, but not yet seen as a serious threat. Sony
also subjected the Jaguar to close inspection, as Bill Reh-
bock recalls in an interview with The Retro Hour Podcast:
“One of my favorite stories about the Jaguar is that after

I had left Atari and wound up going over to Sony, I was
talking to Yamamoto-san, who had said that they could
remember when the Jaguar first shipped and the folks of
Sony Computer Entertainment had gotten their hands

on one [...]. He said Ken Kutaragi and him and the rest

of the engineering team took apart the Jaguar and were
shocked that there were only like 42 components and that
the Jaguar was so elegantly architected with the Tom and

118 EDGE 2/1994, p. 10-11
136

Jerry chip and sort of the Motorola 68000. Other than
these three chips, basically everything else was minimal
support kind of circuitry. Sony was blown away by a lot of
the aspects that Jaguar had. The one thing Jaguar did not
have was fully fledged graphics transformation for doing
3D.”""9

3DOn‘'t

The console that rivalled the Jaguar the most, 3DO,

had fallen well short of expectations in the 1993 Christ-
mas season. Still, there was something to be said for EA
founder Trip Hawkins‘ company compared to Atari, as
Electronic Games described: “This will be an epic battle
not unlike David and Goliath. 3DO gets to play the part
of the giant based on financial backing alone. So many
companies, software producers and hardware developers
alike have sunk so much money into the 3DO project that
they simply must hang in there to see a return on their
investment.”!”° At the press conference at the Winter CES
1994, Hawkins’ tension was clearly noticeable. Accord-
ing to reports, only a little over 10,000 consoles had been
sold in 1993’ — Atari had thus won the next-gen battle
for Christmas despite unequal chances with only about
17,000 Jaguar consoles sold. And Trip Hawkins gave
vent to his frustration during his appearance at the fair
by distributing plenty of all-round blows: The consoles
from Sega and Nintendo were nothing more than toys,
their license model was bad, the Jaguar was hardly worth
mentioning, the Philips CD-i was running out of breath
and the 3DO console was about 120 times faster than PCs.

119 Bill Rehbock, The Retro Hour Podcast Ep. 139, 14.09.2018,
https://arcadeattackpodcast.podbean.com/e/no-61-bill-
rehbock-interview/

120 Electronic Games, 3/1994, p. 94-95

121 https://www.atariarchives.org/cfn/09/03/08/0057.php

137

Asked about the machine’s sales figures, Hawkins replied

that he couldn‘t say anything about that. And when finally
asked about the Jaguar, he replied annoyed: “I would sug-
gest anyone interested in what Atari have to offer, go over
to their stand and see exactly what they‘re showing.”!?*

Atari on the upswing

Despite all the difficulties with hardware production,
games that took longer to release than expected, a Christ-
mas sales season that was suboptimal, and a nearly
depleted war chest, Atari had every reason to be hopeful
at the Winter CES 1994. In direct comparison to the 3DO,
even the more than modest sales of the Jaguar looked
like a success, and the console earned more laurels at the
show: Die Hard Game Fan magazine presented Atari with
two awards: Cybermorph won Game of the Month for De-
cember 1993, and the Jaguar received an award for Best
New Product in 1993. Atari’s team also received the same
award from Video Game Magazine, along with an award
for Best Print Advertising in 1993 for the Jaguar. Another
award for best new product was promised by Game In-
former magazine, and Electronic Games told Atari com-
munity manager Bob Brodie while still at the show that
they planned to award Tempest 2000, shown at the event,
as the best game of CES.*?3 Moreover, Atari saw no reason
to hide any longer: not far from the much larger booths
of Nintendo and Sega, the company had secured a spot in
Pavilion A, instead of renting a cheaper suite outside the
show, as in previous years. But alongside all the jubila-
tion surrounding the appearance of the former industry
pioneer, there were also critical voices. EDGE judged
particularly harshly: “In a move typical of the company,

122 EDGE 3/1994, Winter CES 94, p. 9+
123 Atari Explorer Online, 22.01.1994

138

Atari have taken one big step forward with the 64-bit
Jaguar hardware — and two steps back in their choice of
software. Following the crusty footprints of the abombin-
able Crescent Galaxy, Raiden does absolutely nothing for
the Jaguar cause. [...] The graphics are two-dimensional
and many a Commodore 64 owner would sneer at the sup-
posed ‘CD-quality’ music. [...] Without Rebellion‘s Alien
us Predator and ATD‘s Cybermorph, the Jaguar stand
would have been a wasteland of ill-conceived software.
However, it was worth a trip to their stand if only to see
their promotional video — an unfortunate example of the
Atari marketing machine in full flow. Scratch that, full
ebb.”!4

As far as the numbers were concerned, however, Atari was
happy to round up its own success. The press release of
the European branch on January 14 spoke of more than
20,000 Jaguar consoles sold within three weeks before
Christmas 1993. EDGE wrote in its February 94 issue that
40,000 consoles had been shipped in the U.S. alone dur-
ing the same period, with another 4,000 in Europe. The
official annual report, published a few months later, put

a clear end to all speculations: Atari had shipped about
17,000 consoles. Such obscure number games in com-
munication should provide some ambiguity in connection
with the German distributors in the following months.
For the moment, however, Atari enjoyed the small vic-
tory at the Winter CES. That‘s why Sam Tramiel joyfully
stated in the aforementioned CES press release: “We look
forward to extending Jaguar‘s success in the New York
and San Francisco markets by implementing a nationwide
roll-out of the product in 1994. What is especially reward-

124 EDGE 3/1994, p. 9+
139

ing is customer response to Jaguar — it‘s great to see how
people react to the system. We are committed to making
Jaguar the world‘s number one game platform and this is
a powerful start.”

140

YW bor
6. esa
BRAIN BURNING coors

wet DTW i ENOUGH TO

WWLVE BEEN

NAG |

DR¥ SPELL

What Atari should have done
differently is putting much
more money into the games in
the first place. In a way, they
were lucky to get the few good
games they did.

Mike Beaton

142

The launch of a new console, and the months that follow,
are a critical time for video game companies. The new
hardware must prove itself on the market during this time,
and appealing games must convince buyers as quickly as
possible — no matter how big the name behind the console
is. When Sega first released its 16-bit Mega Drive in Japan
in 1988, six titles were released for the console within the
first six months, three of which were arcade conversions
of popular hits: Space Harrier IT, Super Thunder Blade
and Altered Beast. Within a year, the number of games for
the Mega Drive grew to 17 titles. When Nintendo released
its 16-bit Super Famicom system in Japan two years after
Sega, the company pushed 15 titles to market within the
first six months, including guaranteed hits like Super
Mario World, arcade shooters like Gradius I, and the
futuristic racing game F-Zero. After one year, 40 games
were available for the system. The early next-gen systems,
on the other hand, had a much harder time supplying new
and exciting games. Only six titles were released for the
3DO in the first six months after its release in the U.S.,
plus three more in Japan. This had a negative impact on
sales of the CD-based console: By May 1994, 3DO had sold
only about 45,000 consoles in the U.S., according to the
Wall Street Journal.’*5 But due to the enormous third-
party support, the game library had grown to 37 games
within a year, including titles like John Madden Football
and Road Rash. For the Jaguar, on the other hand, things
looked much bleaker. Within the first six months, just five
titles were released — including not a single current arcade
hit and no current game license. After Trevor McFur

and Cybermorph made it in time for the console launch

in November 1993, Raiden and Evolution Dino Dudes

125 https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.atari.st/c/
BdQUBGA419I/m/8JDyzC12IRIJ

143

followed in December. New games for Atari fans didn‘t ap-
pear again until March with Jeff Minter‘s Tempest 2000,
before Wolfenstein 3D and Brutal Sports Football fol-
lowed six more months later. In its first year, the Jaguar
managed to get only twelve releases — Sam Tramiel had
predicted 50 games for that period. Truly impressive titles
like Doom and Alien vs Predator didn‘t appear until the
fall of 1994. Marion Cyrus Martin remembers the dry
spell: “I remember feeling frustrated that the best games
were not available at launch and the wait for them was ter-
rible. Some friends saw the choices that were available as
evidence that I had bought a bad console and never gave
it another glance. That was hard. Most just did not respect
Atari or what they were doing. It wasn’t until later when I
showed them the Jaguar flexing some muscles in AvP and
Tempest 2000 that some of them began to be impressed.”
Atari also seemed to have serious problems producing its
new console in large quantities, contrary to all assurances.
And the launch in test markets was not followed by rapid
nationwide sales, as Tramiel had announced. Bob Brodie
stated in January 1994: “We will roll out to the top ten
markets in the US throughout the first quarter. Beginning
in the second quarter, we will go to the top twenty mar-
kets.”12° Regarding this seemingly hesitant rollout, Sam
Tramiel succinctly stated in the 1993 annual report: “This
limited rollout was necessitated because of restricted sup-
ply during the production startup.”2” Europe continued to
wait in vain for large deliveries. EDGE magazine reported
in February 1994: “The first delivery of Jaguars should

be available in the London area from Virgin Megastores,
HMV and Harrods. A full roll-out of PAL machines com-
mences in the UK from March 15, when ‘tens of thou-

126 Atari Explorer Online, 22.01.1994
127 Atari Annual Report 1993, 31.03.1994

144

sands’ will go to major high street stores such as Comet,
Dixons, Toys ‘R’ Us and so on.””8 Atari‘s full-bodied
promise that large numbers of the console would soon be
available, however, did not come true. The German video
game magazine Maniac summarized the situation for
Atari as follows: “The few consoles shipped in the States
were a drop in the bucket, while the device only showed
up in minimal numbers in England. Although the entire
launch software (four games so far) comes from there, the
English retailers react to the question about the Jaguar
with a confused ‘I don‘t know or ‘Should have been there
already’. The confidence in the former market leader is
already at the bottom — American and Japanese manufac-
turers show no interest at all.“!?° However, the disinterest
was not quite so absolute. At least Atari was able to pres-
ent a number of big studios working on upcoming games
for the Jaguar at the beginning of 1994: Accolade took on
the market for sports games, which were in high demand
in the U.S., with no less than four announced titles: a
basketball game, a baseball game, a golf game and a field
hockey game. Industry veteran Activision also developed
new titles for the console, as did Maxis, the simulation
company Microprose, the British software house Ocean

— which was known for numerous film license conversions
— as well as U.S. Gold and Virgin Interactive. Compared
to the next-gen competition, the Jaguar still performed
acceptably, at least at the beginning of 1994, as Maniac
also emphasized: “However, it would be unfair to talk
about tired software or lack of cartridges right now. After
all, the 3DO is also having quite a hard time landing good
games.”° Behind the scenes, however, problems were pil-

128 EDGE 2/1994, p. 10-11
129 Maniac 2/1994, p. 56-57
130 ibidem

145

ing up for Atari, which was already struggling financially.
“IBM did have a problem with some of the Jaguar sets
that they built. That did cause some delays. They are still
a bit behind,”*** Bob Brodie stated in early March 1994.
Troubled by technical difficulties with its service provider
and at the same time still in the process of restructuring,
the company remained in the red. There was no sign of
the $45 million nationwide advertising campaign for the
Jaguar announced at the press conference a year prior.
Instead, the Tramiels were urgently seeking investors. To
this end, Sam Tramiel was in talks with possible inter-
ested parties in the spring of 1994. But the situation was
difficult: Who wanted to invest in a family-run company
that had potential from a technical point of view, but was
not willing to give up its evolved decision-making struc-
ture? The answer came from Time Warner, which already
owned a stake in Atari. Sam Tramiel explained this in the
annual report for 1993, published at the end of March
1994: “In order to insure the long term success of Jaguar,
we need to raise capital. As part of this process, we sold an
additional 1.5 million shares to Time Warner Inc. for a to-
tal of $12.8 million. Including this transaction, Time War-
ner Inc. now has approximately 27 percent ownership of
the Company. We will also continue to study additional fi-
nancing opportunities.”"3* Moreover, Atari not only lacked
money, but personnel as well. The announcements for the
future of the console manufacturer from Sunnyvale were
countered by a steadily dwindling number of employees:
the company employed 133 people at the end of 1993. And
Atari was still far from being in the black in the spring of
1994, “until such time as Jaguar achieves broad market
acceptance and hardware and related software products

131 Atari Explorer Online, 07.03.1994
132 Atari Annual Report 1993, 31.03.1994

146

are sold in substantial volume. [...] In any event, margins
on Jaguar hardware are expected to be relatively low. The
Company‘s future profitability will depend largely on the
Company‘s success in creating and selling software titles
which have significantly higher margin than hardware,”*33
the annual report 1993 read.

Atari continued to desperately search for developers and
supporters for its system, but without having to invest a
lot of money for it. So the company presented a total of

86 developers, publishers and licensees for the Jaguar

in a press release from March 1994. Most of the 48 new
partners mentioned in this announcement were mainly
small companies, some of them from the home computer
sector. Again, Atari acted subtle in the enumeration, as the
number suggested more support than the Jaguar actually
received: Each development studio ended up working ona
project for a publisher, unless they published games them-
selves or Atari did. However, the list did not distinguish
between developers and publishers. To fuel the rumor
mill, Atari also explicitly named Sculptured Software as
the developer of Mortal Kombat for Acclaim in its press
release — the team was responsible for the SNES version
of the popular brawler. Atari was apparently already hop-
ing for more glamour for its console from the mention of
the attractive title, although Bob Brodie still declined any
comment on a possible appearance of the game on the
Jaguar in February 1994, but at the same time mentioned
it in connection with talks at Iguana Entertainment."4 So
vague and confusing were Atari's statements about Mortal
Kombat that EDGE stated in its March 1993 issue that
Mortal Kombat for the Jaguar would certainly be worth

133 Atari Annual Report 1993, 31.03.1994
134 Atari Explorer Online, 06.02.1994

147

waiting for.85 However, it was going to be a waiting for
Godot. Creating a little confusion and stirring up plenty
of optimism: That seemed to have become the modus
operandi at Atari. The fact that Atari included plenty of
small companies in its list was not least due to the laissez-
faire policy towards developers, as Bill Rehbock explained
in an interview with Game Developer Magazine in 1994:
“We do not require our licensees to let us know what
they're doing, but we request it. We keep a scatter chart
of types — not titles — of games being worked on by all

our licensees. We do not prohibit anybody from proceed-
ing on a title, but we will be honest: ‘Acme Software, we
recommend you don’t pursue this tennis game because

it is worse than the three already in the works.’ If they go
ahead and proceed, God bless ’em. If they get eaten alive,
that’s O.K. too. Buyers for the big chains like Toys ‘R’ Us
know quality when they see it. The industry is a little more
self-regulating than it used to be. We also won’t reject — or
slowly approve — your 3D polygon racing game because
ours isn’t ready yet. All third party games get tested in-
dependently of our own projects. In fact, on the day that
Tradewest announced their Jaguar Troy Aikman Football
game, we canceled our in-house football project.”

Meanwhile, however, the video game world didn‘t stop

to wait for Atari‘s potential wonder games. The 16-bit
console generation was by no means ready to admit
defeat: NBA Jam, one of the best-selling video games of
1994, was released in March for Nintendo SNES and Sega
Genesis. July saw the release of Super Street Fighter IT,
another top hit for the two console rivals, followed by
Mortal Kombat IT in September. All of them turned out to

135 EDGE 3/1994, p. 57
136 Game Developer Magazine 6/1994, p. 14

148

be million-sellers. For the Jaguar, technically theoretically
capable of offering near-perfect arcade ports of the three
aforementioned titles, none of them appeared. Atari saved
on expensive licenses and went for mass instead of class.
Mike Beaton remembers in retrospect: “They weren’t of-
fering enough money in order to get good games. If they
had, maybe, in the end, they wouldn’t have gone with
Rebellion, but they’d put in enough money to make sure
you get good games. And they didn’t do that, they didn’t
understand that you needed to do that. What Atari should
have done differently is putting much more money into
the games in the first place. In a way, they were lucky to
get the few good games they did.” Atari put the develop-
ment costs for all games in development in 1993 — in-
cluding at least the six titles Alien us Predator, Crescent
Galaxy, Cybermorph, Evolution Dino Dudes, Raiden,
and the never-completed Tiny Toons — at $800,000.13”
Four of these had been released by the end of the year and
were thus included in their total budget in this calculation.
The fact that most Jaguar games had to make do with

a comparatively low budget is also confirmed by Faran
Thomason, who later went on to work at Nintendo: “I
don’t recall specifics on the budgets, but they were ap-
proximately $100k-250k. Maybe more with overages since
the developers tended to under-budget. The Game Boy
games I worked on at Nintendo were probably $250k-
500k [each] as I recall.” Atari‘s chances of landing real
hits and getting gamers excited about its next-gen console
with development costs below the typical budget of Game
Boy games were slim from the start. In addition, there was
a lack of high-profile marketing. For example, Nintendo
had estimated a marketing budget of around $4 million

137 Atari Annual Report 1993, p. 27
149

for its sports game Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League
Baseball for Game Boy and SNES in the USA alone.*3° This
was more than Atari had been willing to spend for the
Christmas promotion for the launch of its Jaguar.

Tempest 2000

One of the glimmers of hope for the Jaguar was, of all
things, a game from the 80s: Tempest. The arcade ma-
chine, released in 1981, sold over 25,000 units and is one
of Atari‘s most successful arcade titles. A remake for the
Jaguar was first mentioned in August 1993."8° The devel-
opment was done by programming guru Jeff Minter. In
an interview with Atari Explorer Online, he recalled his
first contact with the Jaguar and how he got excited about
the new console: “I got invited to a Jag devcon in the UK
at the end of ‘92, where we were shown Jag for the first
time. They had Tigercube (which has since mutated to be-
come the spinning Jaguar logo) and various demos of the
colour capabilities, spriting and Gouraud Shading. I was
interested then, and they gave us the tech notes to take
away and they made interesting reading, but I didn't fully
realise what Jag was actually like until a few weeks later.
Atari invited me out to Sunnyvale to write some demos
for the Jag. I remember the moment the penny dropped

— I was learning the blitter and I wrote this warp effect
using only the 68k and the blitter. I assumed that, as it
was quite a nasty warp, it would be a non-realtime effect
— something you‘d do once to a bitmap and then display
the result. I got it going, it ran, and warped this image of a
girlie I was using as source. Then Leonard [Tramiel] came

138 https://www.polygon.com/2013/2/12/3981864/rare-
nintendo-promotional-videos-provide-a-glimpse-of-90s-
marketing

139 Atari Explorer Online, 21.08.1993

150

by and said, how about putting it in a realtime loop? I said
naaah, didn‘t intend it to be realtime, but I put it in a loop
that altered some parameters and tried it out anyway ...
and it went in realtime — that girlie was warping about like
she was on a sheet of rubber, and I just went F###! Then
it just took over, the hardware sprite scaling, the rotation,
the shaded blitting, it just blew me away again and again.
At that point my soul belonged to Jaguar.““° Minter also
recognized an important selling point for the Jaguar, one
that Atari marketing left completely untapped: “The Jag
is particularly exciting as it‘s the first console platform to
offer gaming satisfaction to two previously separate seg-
ments of the market — the Nintendo/Sega area, where the
emphasis is on cutesy, sprite-based scrolly games, and the
high-end gamer who until now has bought a fast 486 with
CD-ROM etc. to play polygon-based simulations and more
complex strategic games.”"*' Minter describes his first
experience with Tempest in his book about the history of
his own game company Llamasoft as follows: “What I saw
in that dim arcade on that rainy day in London, though,
was not just striking: it was beautiful. Bright, blue neon
vectors picked out what looked like a three-dimensional
spiders‘ web floating in space. Intensely coloured geo-
metric shapes ‘walked’ on this surface, appearing down
one end as tiny dots, growing in size and taking form as
they moved up the Web towards the top. A bright yellow
‘claw representing the player clung to the top of the Web,
firing strings of shots that looked like tiny flowers down
onto the enemies as they climbed up the Web. I don‘t
think I‘d ever seen a game, vector or raster, that looked so
distinctive and so lovely. [...] I had no idea back then, as

I played in wonder in that dim arcade in London, how in

140 Atari Explorer Online, 02.04.1994
141 ibidem

151

later years I‘d become associated with that game far more
deeply than just as a player (nor, indeed, that one day I‘d
have a sheep named after the game, and a perfect arcade
game of it in my own house to play whenever I liked).”14?
Minter was eager to translate his gaming experience to the
new console without changing the feel of the game. The
Jaguar seemed like the perfect platform for the colorful
vector graphics and a snappy techno sound. “I already had
a fairly long history of experimenting with the creation of
synthetic abstract graphics, due to a long standing inter-
est in creating an interactive ‘graphics synthesiser’ to
accompany music, a predecessor to the kind of music visu-
alisations that are now commonplace. I began with some
simple experiments on the Commodore 64 back in 1984,
and by the beginning of the nineties I was working with

a couple of other guys on a Transputer-based interactive
music visualisation system that we called the Virtual Light
Machine, or VLM. When I came to do Tempest 2000 it
seemed natural to use the same kind of ideas for in-game
effects as I was using in the VLM - the original coin-op
Tempest was already beautifully abstract and there was
no need to approximate any form of realism in taking the
design forward.”“3 The result was well received by gam-
ers and journalists alike. According to Peter Roithmayr,
then a senior buyer at Electronics Boutique, the game was
a big seller, as he told Current Notes magazine: “We sold
over 60 percent of our Tempest 2000 stock within four
days; most sold in the first two days of shelf life.”“+ Ger-
man magazine ST-Computer praised: “With the colorful
enemies and galaxies in Tempest 2000, the Jaguar finally
shows its claws, and its roar sounds pretty decent by now,

142 Jeff Minter, A History of Llamasoft, p. 154+
143 ibidem, p. 205
144 Current Notes 4/1994

152

too.”“45 However, the awards and players‘ joy over one suc-
cessful arcade conversion couldn‘t change the fact that the
template for this was 13 years old. Although many gamers
might have remembered it very well and the title boosted
the console‘s sales a bit, it still wasn‘t enough to become

a must-buy in the public‘s perception. Sega and Nintendo
still offered too many games for that, and continued to an-
nounce major new titles for their 16-bit systems.

The Dorfman Crisis

Doubts about the future of the new console and Atari
were also raised by media reports highlighting Atari‘s
lack of game supply and weak annual results. One of the
presumed decisive ones in the financial world was the
so-called Dorfman Report on CNBC, named after financial
journalist Dan Dorfman. All the major television net-
works in the U.S. offered formats that reported on trends
on Wall Street and provided background information on
publicly traded companies. But the Dorfman Report was
particularly wide-reaching. The Washington Post stated
in an article from May 1994: “During the past 18 months,
more than 95 percent of the stocks recommended on

the reports have increased in price dramatically — by an
average of about 13 percent — usually within five minutes
of Dorfman‘s report. Companies knocked have quickly
dropped in value by about the same percentage. [...] So
effective are his reports that the Chicago Stock Exchange
recently petitioned the Securities and Exchange Com-
mission to require a daily halt to all automated trading
while Dorfman is broadcasting because the flood of orders
makes accurate pricing of the stock in question nearly
impossible.”4° Dan Dorfman‘s word carried weight. And

145 ST-Computer 7/1994
146 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/

153

the financial journalist was by no means convinced of
Atari. As early as by the end of 1993, he assessed the situa-
tion for the video game pioneer from Sunnyvale as diffi-
cult, whereupon its share prices fell.“4”7 Dorfman was even
more outspoken in June 1994, when he outright called
the Jaguar a flop during a 30-second spot on CNBC titled
“Hot Air Management Hype.” The console had fallen far
short of Atari‘s expectations, he said, and the company
itself may soon be completely out of the market. Sam
Tramiel‘s announcement that the Jaguar would sell about
500,000 units worldwide in 1994 and that Atari expected
sales of $200 million, he said, was exaggerated, even
looking ahead to 1995.48 Once again, Atari‘s stock price
plummeted in the wake of the report. And when Dorfman
followed up in an article for the newspaper USA Today in
November of the same year, Sam Tramiel felt compelled
to issue a press release: “It is disruptive to the market to
have a short position fund manager such as Mr. Sass put
out a self serving report with critical information omitted
and not even bothering to call the company to confirm. It
is further disturbing that Mr. Dorfman condones such be-
havior and comments on such positions.”“? In this press
release, Atari addressed four central points of Dorfman‘s
statements and explained firstly that the fund manager
Sass, to whom Dorfman referred in his contribution,
profited from the falling Atari share prices because he
had speculated on it. Secondly, Dorfman had asked for a
statement while all possible contacts at Atari were tied up

business/1994/05/22/taking-stock-of-a-market-mover/
7edoacea-7add-4318-ba05-87004db92cfb/

147 https://variety.com/1993/biz/news/financial-briefs-161-
116246/

148 https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.atari.st/c/
2c5N3VzF1Nc/m/fegW80QjkNoJ

149 Atari Press Release, 08.11.1994

154

in a board meeting. Third, Tramiel pointed out that there
would be a supply of games, since five new titles for the
Jaguar would be released by the end of November. And
fourth, Dorfman spoke of write-offs in the PC business,
which Atari had already exited in 1993. But Atari could
not refute two of the main points of Dorfman‘s criticism:
There was a long lean period without any new titles for the
Jaguar worth mentioning. And Atari‘s sales for the third
quarter of 1994 didn't look promising either. Sam Tra-
miel tried to look into the future in this press release and
explained: “Software delays did occur as the development
teams learned how to harness the power of the 64-bit
Jaguar system. Now the developers are up to speed; we
expect there to be a continuous stream of game releases
throughout the balance of this year and into 1995 and the
future. [...] The Jaguar represents Atari‘s philosophy of of-
fering leading edge technology at affordable prices and we
feel it has a very bright future.”° At the same time, more
and more companies criticized Dorfman‘s sources and his
fact checks — including corporations like Coca Cola. The
Washington Post wrote: “Too often, the critics charge,
Dorfman is peddling inaccurate information that has been
brought to him by speculators who stand to reap huge
profits from the rapid movement in the price of the stocks
that Dorfman discusses. Moreover, claim the critics,
Dorfman often makes little attempt to verify information
before airing his reports.”*' Increasingly, questions had
been raised about whether Dorfman allowed himself to be
manipulated by leaking certain information, and to what
extent he himself profited from these actions. However,

150 Atari Press Release, 08.11.1994

151 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/
business/1994/05/22/taking-stock-of-a-market-mover/
7edoacea-7add-4318-ba05-87004db92cfb/

155

both an internal investigation by NBC and an investiga-
tion by federal authorities found no evidence for this."
In any case, with respect to Atari, Dorfman had revealed
what a precarious situation the company was in. Atari‘s
promises of 50 game titles — just eight had been released
by November 18 — and 500,000 consoles sold by the end
of 1994 actually proved to be overly optimistic. Atari was
undoubtedly in financial trouble. Therefore, Dorfman
described the company as a bankruptcy candidate, and in
doing so he could refer to the 1993 annual report which
stated: “Over the last two years, the Company has signifi-
cantly restructured and downsized its operations around
the world. [...] Throughout 1992 and 1993, the Company
reduced its staff in Sunnyvale to be consistent with its
reduced activity and future operations. These opera-
tional closures may result in the voluntary or involuntary
liquidation or bankruptcy of some subsidiary companies.
At December 31, 1993, the Company maintained active
operations in the United States, the Netherlands and the
United Kingdom. During this period of restructuring and
downsizing, the Company has incurred substantial losses,
including charges for restructuring. In the process, the
Company has also significantly reduced headcount and
operating expense levels.”153

Everything Atari did in connection with the restructuring
left little hope that the company could make its new con-
sole a success. In the face of rising interest in upcoming
consoles like the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation, which
promised previously unimagined 3D capabilities, but also
thanks to the unwavering popularity and falling prices of
16-bit consoles, the video game press‘s interest in the Jag-

152 https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/20/business/media/
dan-dorfman-82-dies-his-tips-moved-markets.html
153 Atari Annual Report 1993, 31.03.1994

156

uar, which had briefly sprouted in late 1993, largely ebbed.
Even the 3DO, blessed with a similarly thin game selection
as the Jaguar until April 1994, made massive gains start-
ing in May. Titles like John Madden Football, Road Rash
and Alone in the Dark were convincing, while titles with
weak gameplay like Demolition Man or Jurassic Park
Interactive at least came up with great licenses. In addi-
tion, Panasonic had lowered the price of its 3DO console
from $699 to $499 in February — and accepted losses

in the process. In fact, manufacturers — the 3DO, unlike
other game consoles, was produced by several hardware
companies — complained that they would lose a total of
$220 million trying to price the hardware competitively.
However, industry giant Toshiba and the South Korean
company Goldstar, which joined as licensees in 1994, were
able to cushion such losses with billions in sales much
better than Atari. That's why the Jaguar with Cybermorph
still cost around $250 even when 16-bit competitors
dropped below $100. In a way, the problems of the 3DO
Company and Atari were similar, as this quote from a
Reuters report from October 1994 shows: “John Eastburn,
Chief Operating Officer of Crystal Dynamics Inc., told

the paper that most of the developers cannot break even
on the 3DO sales unless the consumer base increases to
500,000 from the current 75,000. Hawkins told the paper
that the company should have 500,000 users worldwide
by the end of the year, 1 million by spring and 4 million by
the end of next year.”*5 Atari was also officially aiming for
500,000 consoles sold by the end of 1994, but at the same
time the company was shrinking instead of investing. Only
one game release within the first half of 1994 did little to
solidify confidence in a strong Atari comeback, even on

154 Reuters, 10/1994
155 ibidem

157

the part of gamers. But suddenly, out of nowhere, Atari‘s
Gordian Knot seemed to be untied in one fell swoop in
November. Not thanks to the Jaguar, not because of a
single game that got released, but because of a patent from
the 80s. And so, probably the most important financial
injection for Atari and the Jaguar came from the Japanese
competition.

158

159

VIVA LAS SEGAS

The increased cash position will
be used, among other things, to
enhance our marketing position
this fall.

Sam Tramiel

For Sega, 1993 was an important year. Worldwide, the
company had made more than $3 billion in sales with
net revenues of more than $260 million, and it wanted
to go even higher. Company patriarch Hayao Nakayama
had already declared in a meeting in April 1992: “Begin-
ning this year, we’re going to implement a five-year plan
to become a ¥600 billion revenue business. The goal this
year will be ¥320 billion with a profit of ¥50 billion. This
is a bit above our practical target, but I believe that it is
entirely possible with Sega’s current position. However,
the first step to reach that will be to dominate the world-
wide 16-bit market. In order to do that, we have to enrich
our software lineup and create more big hits.”5° Sega‘s
Genesis had ended Nintendo‘s dominance of the 16-bit
segment in the US: Nintendo‘s market share dropped
from about 60 percent in 1992 to 37 percent in 1993, and
Sega had taken the lead and held it by a narrow margin
through 1994.” Since 1992, work had also begun on
Sega‘s next-gen Saturn console. Actually, all seemed right
for the video game giant, but in fact a slight uncertainty
was already swinging through the company headquarters
in Tokyo before the release of the Jaguar. The company
was suffering from the recession in Japan and Europe, as
well as a strong yen that was putting pressure on revenues
from its important export business. Growing competition
from new consoles from Atari and the 3DO Company, as
well as Sony‘s announcement that it was entering the mar-
ket, caused concern for Nakayama. Especially since it was
already apparent by the end of 1993 that sales were de-
clining in the otherwise strong and important Christmas

156 Eiji Ohshita, Game Sensou, quoted according to: https://
mdshock.com/2021/04/14/segas-financial-troubles-an-
analysis-of-export-revenue-1991-1998/

157 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/1994-02-20/
nintendos-yamauchi-no-more-playing-around

161

season. The New York Times stated in a July 1993 article:
“Instead of becoming the Disney of the electronic age, Mr.
Nakayama‘s Sega might just as well become the next Atari,
a video game company that experienced meteoric growth
on the strength of one product in the early 1980‘s only to
nearly collapse when the market shifted. The home video
game business is on the cusp of technological transfor-
mation and new competitors are jumping in.”5° Even if
concerns about Sega’s future were not unjustified, in 1993,
the company was in an excellent position — and had big
plans for its future.

The three competitors Hayao Nakayama, Nintendo boss
Hiroshi Yamauchi and Atari‘s Jack Tramiel all had one
thing in common: they didn‘t play video games. But Na-
kayama, who was 61 at the time, summed up the crucial
difference: “The important thing is not that I enjoy playing
but that I understand what it is that causes them to enjoy
it.”459 Like Yamauchi, Sega’s patriarch had a good feeling
for which of his employees‘ projects were promising. Nin-
tendo and Sega were well aware that they earned most of
their money with games they developed themselves. That
this required money as well as talent had also become
evident over the years. An essential conviction in the video
game business that Atari did not share. Since the takeover
by Tramiel, consoles had become a sideline for the U.S.
company, while they concentrated on home computers.
The in-house game development for the 8-bit consoles
was hardly worth mentioning and didn‘t provide notewor-
thy sales in the big picture. Only with the appearance of
the Lynx, which was technically superior to the Nintendo

158 The New York Times, 04.07.1993, Sega Takes Aim at Disney’s
World
159 ibidem

162

Game Boy, did Atari change its strategy to some extent
under the influence of company president Bernie Stolar,
but it still lost out to the monochrome Nintendo handheld
and the Sega Game Gear. With the launch of the Jaguar,
Atari had hinted that everything was going to be different
this time, but for months it didn‘t deliver any new games
and not a single hot licensed title to convince gamers.
Instead, the mantra of technically superior hardware was
repeated again and again, but it refused to manifest itself
in a system seller that gamers had been waiting for. The
failure of the ST‘s successor, the Falcon, showed that po-
tent hardware was no longer enough. This was even more
true in the dynamic video game business. Analyst Charles
Lemonides summed it up as follows in 1994: “Software
drives sales — period. It doesn‘t matter how good the hard-
ware is if you don‘t have good software.”*©° In this respect,
Sega and Atari differed significantly in their strategy. But
one important similarity could still be noted. The New
York Times stated: “Sega, being the underdog, has been
more willing to rush out new hardware, even if only a
little software is available.” A philosophy that coincided
with Atari‘s. By comparison, Nintendo always ensured

a safe lineup of games, including an almost guaranteed
hit, before launching a new console. Perhaps from that
perspective, Nakayama assessed Atari as a greater threat
than the competitor from Sunnyvale actually posed. Espe-
cially since Sega itself had shown how quickly an outsider,
which the top dog is hardly prepared to take seriously, can
succeed in a meteoric rise. The decision to launch the 32x,
a hardware expansion for the still successful Genesis, as a
reaction to the Jaguar should be seen against this back-

160 Silicon Times Report No. 1047, 11/1994
161 The New York Times, 04.07.1993, Sega Takes Aim at Disney’s
World

163

ground. In order not to leave the field to the competition,
Nakayama preferred to compete with himself — another
parallel to Tramiel from his days at Commodore. Sega‘s
strategy was called “Triple Play”. That meant a console for
seemingly every customer need, as GameFan magazine
explained: “You’ve got the Genesis (which Sega will con-
tinue to support vigorously in ‘95) at $99.99 for the casual
gamer/K-mart shopper, the new 32X (which will be Sega’s
main focus for years to come) for the mass market, and
the Sega Saturn for the hard core gamer who demands the
best and has the money to buy it.”*©* Despite this, Sega in
Japan decided to enter into a deal with Atari, which unex-
pectedly added lavishly to Sunnyvale‘s meager war chest.

The 80s called and they want money

The word “scrolling” first appeared in the computer world
during the early 1970s. It involved shifting content on the
screen, which in the predominantly text-heavy environ-
ment of computer applications meant shifting from bot-
tom to top. When the first sideways-scrolling video games
made their way into arcades, it was tantamount to a minor
revolution. Among the pioneers were Sega‘s Bomber

and Atari‘s Super Bug in 1977 — the latter even allowing
multi-directional scrolling. Three years later, Atari applied
for a patent on a video game that “includes apparatus for
scrolling playfield objects appearing on the display unit of
the game,” according to the patent specification. In 1984,
it was published in the United States as patent number
US4445114A. And in the 1980s, there were numerous
sidescrollers on various home consoles, but not all of them
used the process patented by Atari. But as the resource-
ful legal department in Sunnyvale found out, some of

162 GameFan 3/1995, p. 106
164

Nintendo’s titles were among them. Atari sued — together
with Atari Games Corporation, which still belonged to
Warner — and after a three-year legal battle settled with
Nintendo in 1992 for license use on unspecified terms.

In 1990, the Tramiels‘ lawyers also let Sega know that
they saw an infringement of their ‘114 patent. Although a
settlement in this case seemed likely at first, things turned
out differently. Atari took action in form of a preliminary
injunction. To do so, Atari had to prove that the patent-
in-suit was legally valid, enforceable and infringed. Atari
succeeded in this, despite the out-of-court settlement with
Nintendo beforehand. Sega had taken this settlement as

a starting point to attack the validity of the Atari patent

— but without success. In the statement of claim, Atari also
insisted on the economic damage caused to the company
by the dominant position held by Sega and Nintendo. It
read: “In the meantime, in November 1993 Atari released
new video game hardware called ‘Jaguar,’ which does not
use the ‘114 Patent technology. Jaguar is more powerful
and more expensive than the hardware sold by Sega and
Nintendo, costing approximately $250.00, as compared to
approximately $90.00 for Sega‘s Game Gear or Genesis.
Jaguar has not been very successful. Atari claims that this
is due to the market saturation and domination of video
game hardware sold by Sega and Nintendo. Atari further
claims that unless Sega is enjoined from continuing its
alleged infringement, Atari will continue to be unable

to get retail shelf space for Jaguar, to Atari‘s irreparable
harm.”*°3 What may sound almost confused and unrelated
to the patent infringement complained of in the abbrevi-
ated account, Atari, with the help of an economic expert
163 Atari Corp. v. Sega of America, Inc., 869 F. Supp. 783 (N.D.

Cal. 1994), U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
California - 869 F. Supp. 783 (N.D. Cal. 1994) August 12, 1994

165

named Gene Brown, explained in the preliminary injunc-
tion as follows: “There are two prime elements in this
market, hardware and software. Technologically superior
machines permit the development of exciting software,
and the availability of exciting software fuels the sale of
the machines. The market suffered in 1983 when consum-
ers lost interest in the available software, but revived in
1986 when Nintendo introduced an 8-bit hardware system
which supported more sophisticated software. Then Sega
captured leadership of the market with its 16-bit sys-

tem, ‘Genesis.’ Now Atari has developed a 64-bit system,
‘Jaguar, but it has not captured leadership of the market.
According to Brown, this is because Sega ‘commands

the attention of software developers and desirable retail
shelf space as a consequence of its large installed base

and game software title availability’ such that ‘the ability
to successfully sell a sufficient quantity of Jaguars so as

to attract independent software developers is seriously
compromised by Sega‘s presence.’ Brown declares that be-
cause Sega and Nintendo are preparing to release 32- and
64-bit systems in 1995, Atari is in a ‘now or never’ situa-
tion: if it does not obtain a ‘toehold’ in the market now, it
may never do so, and may not be able to survive. The ‘114
Patent provided new technology which fueled the devel-
opment of a new generation of video games. The market

is highly competitive. Sega‘s market share is 54%, a huge
market presence. There is rapid change in technology in
the field. An injunction could help Atari establish a market
position by giving it the opportunity to create an installed
base so as to create incentive for software development.
He therefore concludes that Sega‘s continued market pres-
ence will irreparably harm Atari.”*°4 However, the court

164 ibidem
166

did not follow the argumentation and did not consider
Atari to be disadvantaged by the infringement of patent
‘114 in the way described here. The court specified four
reasons against it:

1. Sega had already infringed the patent since 1986, but
Atari first opened license negotiations in 1990 and only
after their failure, legal steps followed.

2. Instead of claiming the exclusive use of the allegedly
extremely valuable patent in the legal dispute with Nin-
tendo, Atari licensed its use.

3. Atari did not use the patent itself anymore — not even
for the new Jaguar.

4. Sega would easily be able to pay any claim for damages.
Atari could not credibly prove the economic damage
caused by the patent infringement — the preliminary
injunction was rejected on August 12, 1994. In mid-No-
vember, however, a short press release surprised the
video game world: Sega and Atari had agreed, after a long
legal dispute, that Sega would transfer $50 million to
Sunnyvale in order to be able to use Atari‘s patent library
— more than 70 patents. Sega also bought $40 million
worth of Atari stock, giving it a 7.5 percent stake in the
company. Moreover, the two agreed to a cross-licensing
deal through 2001 that allowed both companies to publish
games on each other‘s systems. Atari spokeswoman Sandy
LaBrec commented: “I don’t expect they'll ever be making
Alien vs Predator, nor that we would ever make a Sonic
game. They might say, ‘We'd like to do this game,’ and
then we’d talk about it. For each individual game, negotia-
tions would be brought up about royalties, etc.”

165 Electronic Games 12/1994, Sega-Atari Make A Deal
167

A part of Sega’s money went into TV advertising for the
1994 holiday season, a welcome cash infusion for Atari, as
Sam Tramiel explained: “The increased cash position will
be used, among other things, to enhance our marketing
position this fall.”*° But was the sum enough to give Atari
a distinct advantage in competing with its rivals? 3DO
founder Trip Hawkins doubted it: “I don’t take Atari that
seriously because even with the additional $90 million,
they don’t have enough money to do what they need to
do. This is a $500 million proposition, if you are going to
do anything in this business. They’re still short by $400
million.” The next year would show whether Atari would
prove him wrong. In any case, not a single title from the
agreement with Sega made the leap to Atari‘s hardware

— the two companies did not come to an agreement,
although ports of successful games like Streets of Rage
were on the table. Such conversions were not available in
the short term anyway, and for the Christmas season 1994
Atari had to provide good arguments for gamers to buy a
Jaguar on their own. Besides Alien vs Predator, another
title caused a big stir, because it could not be played this
smoothly on any other console. And they had to go to hell
for this one.

166 ibidem
167 Electronic Games 1/1995, p. 54

168

169

JAGUAR IS DOOMED

Our initial appraisal of the Jag-
uar was ‘nice system, but Atari
probably can‘t make it a suc-
cess’. But when I got the techni-
cal documentation, I was very
impressed.

John Carmack

170

Doom — a simple name for a game that made huge waves
in the computer and video game world. Already testing a
pre-release version, Chris Lombardi declared in an article
in the summer issue of Computer Gaming World maga-
zine in 1993 with the appropriate headline “They‘re going
to hell for this one”: “Doom is not the typical next genera-
tion technology jump. It‘s a high-altitude, wind-aided,
Carl Lewis of a leap ahead.”©* Even the York Times
reported about the game and stated: “Doom has been a
phenomenon in the personal computer entertainment
category, and may influence how other consumer software
is developed, sold and used.”!°? The same coders who had
already proven their skills a year earlier with Wolfenstein
3D worked on Doom at id Software. John Carmack saw
the Wolfenstein engine, which still worked on older 286
PCs, as the starting point for a more advanced, more
powerful first-person shooter. For that, he didn‘t want to
take the old 286 computers into consideration. The rapid
PC market dynamics proved him right: In 1993, 286
computers accounted for only 0.5 percent of Intel-based
new PC sales in the USA.!” The faster 386s, which had
first appeared on the market in 1986, accounted for about
50 percent of all computers sold in 1992 — by 1993 their
share had dropped to 19 percent. Instead, 486 computers
were becoming the standard: About 66 percent of all new
systems purchased in 1993 were based on the 80486
chipset?”, and in May of that year Intel introduced its first
Pentium processor. In the PC market, the signs of the
times were clearly pointing to more performance, in line

168 Computer Gaming World 7/1993, p. 104

169 The New York Times, 10/1994, Personal Computers: As Game
Thrills Climb, So Do Costs

170 USS. Industrial Outlook 1994 - Computer Equipment, U.S.
Department of Commerce, p. 26-18

171 ibidem

171

with the proclaimed multimedia capability of home
computers. That's why Carmack deliberately targeted a
486 as the optimal platform for his Wolfenstein successor
when developing Doom. However, for all its impressive
texture mapping and fluid 3D environment, Doom was at
its core, just like its predecessor, a 2D game projected into
a three-dimensional environment. This so-called raycast-
ing calculates a three-dimensional environment in the
player‘s field of vision based on a two-dimensional map.
For Doom, Carmack refined his repertoire and used a
completely new engine based on the principle of so-called
binary space partitioning. Its theoretical origins go back to
the late 1960s and, thanks to Carmack’‘s finesse in its use
as a video game engine, allowed for staircases, walls of
varying heights, complex spatial geometry and multiple
levels. It was the first time this method was used in a video
game, and it enabled efficient processing even on 386 PCs
and tremendously fast gameplay on 486 computers in an
era before 3D accelerators, when the CPU had to do all the
calculations on its own. In addition, there were clever light
effects, which created an atmosphere that had never been
seen before in a game. Effects that seemed impossible to
implement on the consoles of the time — Nintendo SNES
and Sega Genesis. But Doom is not only characterized by a
grandiose technique for the time, but also by an oppres-
sively dark and enormously brutal scenario — too much of
a good thing for Nintendo. The video game giant was
already not particularly fond of various elements of the
SNES port of Wolfenstein 3D. Carmack recalls one of the
numerous points of criticism: “Nintendo kept rejecting
Wolfenstein-SNES for bulls**t reasons. A golden cross
bonus item might offend Christians. Right.“ Doom

172 Atari Explorer Online, 22.01.1994
172

spread rapidly after its shareware release in December
1993 and was also highly appreciated by programmers
from other software houses. Because of this, a copy found
its way to Lucas Arts, from where it should become the
basis for the first console port of the game. Bill Rehbock
was on a presentation tour in the halls of Lucas Arts in
December 1993 to promote the Jaguar. Although the team
was impressed by the technical capabilities of the console,
Lucas Arts would not commit to game development. But
in a conversation with one of the employees, Doom came
up, and after a brief demonstration on one of the PCs
there, Rehbock was deeply impressed. He recalls: “I was
shown a build of Doom at Lucas Arts, which was the
catalyst for me to cold-call John Carmack and Jay Wilbur
the following morning, which was a Friday, I believe. I got
approval from Sam and Jack to fly to Texas right after my
phone call and flew out on Monday.“ The demonstration
of the Jaguar at id Software went considerably better than
at Lucas Arts, and John Carmack quickly became enam-
ored with the architecture, as Rehbock explains: “I learned
when I arrived that the old Atari Chicago group had
reneged on doing Wolfenstein 3D for the Atari Lynx (they
had never received budgeting for it from Sunnyvale in the
first place, so never should have committed), so the
meeting didn’t start out too well, but we hit it off and John
wound up doing the core development himself and the
whole internal team at id threw themselves at the project.”
John Carmack describes his impression of the Jaguar as
follows: “Our initial appraisal of the Jaguar was ‘nice
system, but Atari probably can‘t make it a success.’ But
when I got the technical documentation, I was very
impressed. This is the system I want to see become a
standard platform. [...] We finally decided that we didn‘t

173

want to be a part of the chicken-and-the-egg problem of
new systems not attracting customers because developers
haven't written for the platform because there are no
customers. The Jag is cool, I think it has a shot at success,
and I am going to put my time where my mouth is. Why
the Jag is cooler than the 3DO (from my point of view): It
only costs $250. The bulk of its processing power is user
programmable. The 3DO has a capable main processor (a
couple times better than the weak 68k in the Jag), but
most of its power is in custom hardware that has narrow
functionality for affine transformations. The Jag has some
stupid hardware for Z buffering and Gouraud Shading, but
I can just ignore it and tell the two 27 MHz RISC chips to
do exactly what I want. A 64-bit bus with multiple inde-
pendant processors may not be the easiest thing to
optimize for, but there is a lot of potential. [...] Sandy (our
map designer) semi-derisively calls Doom Jaguar my
‘reward’ for writing Doom PC. ‘Good job, you can go play
with your new toys.””73 And so the work on Doom started
in early January 1993 at the latest. Just one month later
Shawn Green from id Software announced an update on
the development status and held out the prospect of a
multiplayer mode: “The hard stuff is done. At this point
we can run around in the Doom world, all of the monsters
interact as they should, all platforms, doors, switches
perform as they should. What is left are Jaguar specific
items such as level optimization, level reduction (the
number of levels), sound and ... save games. [...] You will
be able to use the com-link to connect two Jaguar consoles
together for multi play. Doom will be two player.“ The
fact that the team at id Software was able to get a lot of the
work done in such a short time was due to their enthusi-

173 Atari Explorer Online, 22.01.1994
174 Atari Explorer Online, 06.02.1994

174

asm. “I am suffering with an Atari Falcon for Jaguar work
until I can port the tools to NEXTSTEP,”!5 Carmack
explained in January 1994. Getting to the core of the
Jaguar was something the tech-savvy Carmack just could
not resist. Once the development environment was
running on NEXTSTEP, the team completed the port
quickly. John Romero remembers: “Actually, I mean we
had a really good development system, because we were
still, I believe, working on NEXTSTEP machine when we
were doing the Jaguar version as well and we could use C
on the Jaguar which is nice, we didn’t have to convert the
whole game in assembly language. We just had to get an
assembler that would, I think, write to a 68k chip, gener-
ate that code. But it wasn’t that bad and it was really only,
I believe, four of us who did that work. John Carmack was
basically porting the engine part over, and Shawn [Green]
and I — Shawn moved into my office for these two weeks —
we basically got all the automap stuff and the menues and
intermissions, everything, all the stuff outside the actual
3D screen rendering, we got everything else running
pretty quickly. John got the engine and the AI and all that
stuff working. And then the artist did any kind of weird
palette conversion that they had to do for the Jaguar, and
it was just like two or three weeks. It was pretty quick.”!”°
Bill Rehbock remembers: “The best surprise was when
John sent me the first solid beta build on a Friday, then
followed it with a very playable version of Wolfenstein on
Monday that he did pretty much just for fun. I think that
said a lot for how interesting Jaguar was to code for, and
just how good John was (still is!) as a coder.” Atari hadn‘t

175 Atari Explorer Online, 22.01.1994

176 Interview with John Romero by The Center for
Computing History, starting Min. 50:12,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFBuMqIIPSk

175

asked for Wolfenstein 3D, but Carmack offered it to the
Tramiels as part of the whole package. He recalls in EDGE
magazine: “I converted Wolfensein on a whim. I was
thinking about how the Jag‘s hardware could be applied to
games other than Doom, and Wolfenstein seemed like a
pretty good utilisation. I started programming one
afternoon and 15 CDs later, when the other guys came in
the next morning, I had a functional port of the SNES
Wolfenstein code running. We sent it to Atari, and they
gave us the go-ahead to stall Doom for a little while and
get Wolfenstein out real quick. [...] The game runs
fullscreen at 30fps. We're using high-resolution graphics,
giving it four times the detail of Wolfenstein PC — or
Doom, for that matter. The sound is running at 22KHz,
which is three times the rate of the PC version. We're also
putting back the blood and Nazi stuff that Nintendo forced
us to remove.”!”” Two games for the price of one — who
could say no to that? Atari placed the order to complete
Doom for a budget of $250,000.*” The fact that Doom
was released on cart and not on CD did not bother Car-
mack at all, on the contrary: “People expect CD games to
have tons of digitized speech and video, and the 3DO is
going to be strongly associated with it. The joke here is
that if we ever do a CD version of Doom, you are going to
get the game and “The Making of Doom’, a one hour
feature film. Companies spend hundreds of thousands of
dollars putting all this media into their games, and it often
actually detracts from it. We don‘t want to be part of this
crowd. I would rather cut down to the essentials and fit on
a cartridge than uselessly bulk up on a CD. I have a

177 EDGE 6/1994, p. 30-33

178 Masters of Doom: “Id was getting good money for the gigs
[i.e. the ports of Doom on consoles], $250.000 from Atari
alone.”

176

minimalist sense of aesthetics in game design.”!”9

But work on Doom, originally scheduled for release in the
summer of 1994 to send a signal against the ongoing gam-
ing drought surrounding the Jaguar, hit a few roadblocks.
For one thing, Atari desperately wanted to release Wolfen-
stein a few months ahead of Doom to give the compara-
tively weaker and older title a chance on store shelves. So
Carmack focused his energy on finishing this project first,
putting off finalizing Doom to do so. Wolfenstein 3D was
released in early August 1993 and even surpassed the PC
version in technical terms. However, the title was already
over two years old at that point. It had first appeared for
MS-DOS PCs in May 1992. By the end of 1993, it had sold
a total of 200,000 copies, which was a great success for
the then still small studio id Software. The real highlight:
The first episode of the game, which included nine levels,
was distributed free of charge as a demo. The idea behind
it was simple: if only a small part of those who would play
this free version ordered the whole game, it would be a
big hit for id Software. The free copies of the first-person
shooter spread rapidly — and the chances that anyone in
the vicinity had a PC running Wolfenstein 3D were high:
according to the U.S. Census Bureau‘s Current Popula-
tion Survey, around 23 percent of U.S. households had a
computer in 1993.'°° Many of these were IBM-compatible
PCs. Since Wolfenstein was running on a 286, which was
already aging by 1994, the necessary system requirements
were considered minimal at that time. Essentially, this
meant that almost anyone who had a PC and wanted to

179 Atari Explorer Online, 22.01.1994

180 https://www.infoplease.com/math-science/computers-
internet/us-households-with-computers-and-internet-
use-1984-2014

177

play the game had the chance to do so. The prospect of
spending around $200 on a new console, and then an-
other $60 on a game that was already either an old hat or
freely available on a reduced scale to gaming enthusiasts
at that point, didn‘t give the Jaguar too much of a boost.
The conversion may have been the best of its time, but the
title still didn‘t cause a media frenzy. The gaming world
had moved on and new titles promised more action and
realism — first and foremost Doom. But that, of all things,
had to wait.

Meanwhile, Carmack‘s enthusiasm for the Jaguar had
cooled. He was concentrating on finishing Doom IT for the
PC, while also working on a version for Sega‘s 32X based
on the Jaguar port. Moreover, problems with the sound
as well as the multiplayer mode on the Jaguar caused
headaches and frustration: In a beta version of Doom,
the remark “Fucking DSP!” can be found 148 times in

the 2,583 lines of code next to a somewhat more detailed
comment: “unfuckdsp output — add loads before exter-
nal dsp stores.” Because Carmack was using the Digital
Signal Processor (DSP) for collision detection, among
other things, the processor didn‘t have enough compute
cycles left over to play the in-game music without causing
the gameplay performance to plummet. Dave Taylor of id
Software recalls the problems: “The ‘DSP’ chip, originally
earmarked for sound, was one of the two most power-

ful processors on the system (alongside the GPU), so the
DSP had to be repurposed to doing more than just ren-
der sound. Small issue though: it couldn’t actually write
memory offchip reliably. No biggie, though, because it’s
only generating sound, right? A pop now and then won’t
bother anyone ... unless it’s not generating sound, and it’s

178

generating random data needed for important calculations
instead of broken bits of a sound waveform.”**! Carmack
decided to turn off the music during the game and only
play it when evaluating player performance between
levels. It was a feature that earned the Jaguar implemen-
tation the descriptive name “Silent Doom.” Bill Rehbock
explained in the Silicon Times Report: “John Carmack at
id made the creative decision to use all available voices
for the digitized sound effects during gameplay.”**? Some
players, on the other hand, still find the reduction to ef-
fects and sounds more atmospheric than other versions.
On the other hand, this Doom version has another special
feature that makes it unique: Thanks to the controller
numpad, players have direct access to all weapons with-
out having to switch through them one after the other.
However, after having finished Doom, Carmack was less
optimistic about the future of the Jaguar: “For 24-bit
parallax scrolling graphics, the Jag will outperform a Pen-
tium, but it is only about as powerful as a low end 486 for
texture mapped games. It’s not really an apples to apples
comparison because of the parallel nature of the Jag, but
that is a fair aproximation. The Jaguar cannot make a fully
textured, full screen, full resolution game that runs at 30
fps. The bus will simply not take that many accesses. The
64-bit bus will let you do really fast shaded polygons, but
texture mapping is done a single pixel at a time. Doom
had to be significantly reworked to get good performance,
but it wasn‘t designed from the ground up to take advan-
tage of the Jaguar. If I was designing a game from scratch
for the Jag (I‘m not), I would target 20 fps with a 256*180
view window in 16-bit color as a reachable goal. Doom
runs 15 fps at 160*180 because the basic design is non-op-

181 http://3do.cdinteractive.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3564
182 Silicon Times Report No. 1047, 18.11.1994

179

timal for the Jag‘s characteristics. I wrote it for the PC. [...]
Is the Jaguar doomed? This Christmas will tell. If Atari
sells close to their estimates, they will be a serious market
target for next year.“"®3

When Doom was finally released on 28.11.1994 for the
Jaguar, PC gamers had already been looking forward to
the already released successor Doom II for about a month.
Mike Littau remembers: “Doom did come out around this
time for the Jaguar, but I already had it for the PC, so it
wasn't for me. Regarding Doom and Wolf 3D, in my case
they were not worth full price.” And just a week after the
Jaguar release, Doom premiered on Sega‘s 32X console,
though nowhere near as smoothly playable as the Atari
version. Nevertheless, Doom was an important libera-
tion for Atari‘s console and became the third best-selling
game on the platform with more than 33,000 units sold,
right behind Alien vs Predator and Tempest 2000. The
game showed that the Jaguar had far more to offer than
they had been able to show so far. Even more: With the
Doom engine, Atari had — at least theoretically — a basis
for further 3D developments in their hands. In fact, there
were talks between id Software, Atari and other compa-
nies to license the engine for the development of further
titles. Gregg Burman, who was working on an engine for
a planned 3D game with a Nerf license towards the end of
1994, recalls: “Towards the beginning of our development
cycle, John Carmack, who had ported Doom to Jaguar
under a publishing arrangement with Atari, offered us all
of his tools, including a C compiler he ported to Jaguar
and Doom source code for $10k (roughly three percent of
our budget). This deal made complete sense since, except-

183 Atari Explorer Online, 09.10.1994
180

ing the subject matter, the goal for our game engine was to
render a Doom-like world. But in all their brilliance, Atari
balked at picking up the tab. I also don‘t remember much
in the way of back and forth with Atari regarding techni-
cal issues. As I recall, Jaguar development was more of a
‘bare-metal’ programming experience, and I don‘t remem-
ber having an expectation of support. I had been writing
essentially graphics ‘drivers’ in assembly in those days
and was thrilled just to have a databook for the part I was
programming. I certainly would have reached out to Atari
at later stages of the project for help with optimizations,
especially if performance was preventing the game from
shipping ... but the project never reached that stage. John
Carmack’‘s offer of source code and tools, I imagine, would
have been [tied to] some restrictions placed on the use of
the Doom source. I suspect it was intended to be used as

a reference ... but I can't say for sure. Regardless, it would
have been a valuable resource, especially coupled with the
accompanying tool set. I like to think if the licensing and
publishing contract had come together sooner, we would
have shipped an enjoyable parent-friendly FPS.”

With Doom, id Software closed the Atari Jaguar chap-

ter forever. Dave Taylor: “I seem to recall that Wolf or
Doom or both actually sold at a better than 1:1 ratio with
the system for a while, and even at that stupendous sales
ratio, I think we still did some pathetic number of sales.
Between that and all the dev suffering, neither of us was
like, ‘Oh goodie, let’s do some more of that!’“*84 Rumors
about possible work on further titles — first and foremost
Quake — for the Jaguar are clearly denied by Taylor: “I
don’t recall Quake even being a brain fart of an idea on the

184 http://3do.cdinteractive.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3564.
The following quote by Dave Taylor is from the same source.

181

Jaguar.” However, the Jaguar port of Doom went on to
leave a undisputable mark on video game history: the ver-
sions for 32X, 3DO, PlayStation and Game Boy Advance
are all based on Jaguar Doom.

182

WHO BETTER TO GREET YOU ON
THE SHORES OF HELL THAN HORNED
PINK DEMONS? GOOD THING You
PACKED YOUR CHAINGUN.

NOTHING CLEARS A ROOM OF IMPS
FASTER THAN THE BFG 9000.

BARONS OF HELL--YOY CAN’T LIVE
WITH ‘EM YOU CAN’T KILL ‘EM WITH ANYTHING
LESS THAN A PLASMA RIFLE.

Game tips and ins: 1-900-737-ATARL. 95
‘Adie Jaguar information is available in th
Aun Roundable Forum on GEnic.Type

MADE IN THE USA registered trademarks of Atari Corporation. Copyrigh

access th
1994, Aca

MORE VIOLEN

er waite. IF you ane under 1
E

now there’s a place

han eart

WELComMe TO Doom FOR THE JAGUAR 64-
BIT INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM. IT’S PURE
HELL, 64-BIT STYLE. FROM THE MOMENT YOU
ENTER THE DARK HALLS OF DOOM TILL THE LAST
GUNSHOT OF THE GAME, YOU’LL PATROL NEVER-SEEN-
BEFORE LEVELS AND FACE AN ARMY OF VICIOUS
ASSASSINS PRIMED TO TAKE YOU OUT. SATANIC
DEMONS, LOST SOULS, FIRE-BREATHING MONSTERS.
YOU MAY BE SPOOKED, BUT YOU SURE WON’T BE
LONELY. WITH ITS 32-MEG CART, ULTRA-REAL,
TEXTURE-MAPPED CORRIDORS, LIGHTNING-FAST MOVES,
TRUE 3D GAME PLAY, AND A BOTTOMLESS PIT OF
HIGH-ACTION PLAY OPTIONS, DOOM IS A 64-BIT
SHOWCASE GAME GUARANTEED TO UNLEASH THE POWER
OF JAGUAR. SO SET YOUR COURSE, PACK YOUR
KILLER INSTINCT, AND GO TO HELL.

INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM

@eeo0o°0

DO THE MAT

A halving of texture mapping
performance was accepted in
favor of a doubling of RAM.
When I complained about this
to Leonard Tramiel, he said
something like ‘Even with half
the texture performance gone
we are still way ahead of the
competition.’

Marc Rosocha

184

Just in time for the 1994 Christmas season, Atari was able
to score with a technically as well as playfully impressive
Doom conversion, the best console conversion of Wolfen-
stein 3D, the console-exclusive title Alien vs Predator as
well as a surprise hit from a German studio: “Iron Soldier
is based on the ideas of Atari producer Sean Patten, an
avid Mech and Godzilla fan,”**5 reported Maniac 1994. The
then six-year-old William Thorup remembers the Mech
Warrior-like title very well: “Iron Soldier was a big hit
with the family as a whole. Even my Dad would sit down
and play it for extended sessions, video games being a
rare indulgence for him. To this day, when I bring the Jag
for parties to show off new homebrew, he will bring the
game up, and in response, I usually slide the cartridge
into the console for him to put a few minutes into one of
his favorites on the Jaguar.” Marc Rosocha, who founded
the development studio Eclipse Software and was well-
known to Atari gamers for Lethal Xcess on the Atari ST,
recalls in Retro Gamer: “Sean’s office was full of mechs, he
had little models on his shelves and was a total expert on
everything to do with them. He said to me ‘I’m such a big
mech fan ... why don’t you do a mech game?’ and I agreed,
as long as we could blow everything up.”*®° And this was
done very impressively: Skyscrapers and smaller polygon
buildings, which the player destroys from the first-person
perspective with his mech, dissolve into countless smaller
polygons in screen-filling explosions without the frame
rate dropping too much. A true spectacle that would have
made an lasting impression even on PCs of that time. “I
wanted to fill the screen with smoke and debris and rub-
bish,”"®” Rosocha explains. Working with the Jaguar was

185 Maniac 9/1994, p. 18-19
186 Retro Gamer 165, 2017, p. 76+
187 ibidem

185

not easy, but Eclipse Software invested about a year in
developing its own tools as well as prototyping, and Marc
Rosocha recalls the challenge with satisfaction: “Yes, the
Jaguar was complicated, but ST-steeled coders couldn't
be scared by that.” Thanks to his early involvement in
Jaguar development and his experience with the 32-bit
Atari Falcon computer, he was able to dig deep into the
programming environment for the Jaguar. The pre-re-
lease version of Iron Soldier shown at Summer CES 1994
had attracted some media interest. “Iron Soldier’s great
graphics present a sharp, through-the-robot’s-eyes per-
spective on its polygon world [...], the visuals are gener-
ally crisp and fast”, GamePro said.'** The special feature:
Players could freely roam around a 3D world with their
mech. As with Cybermorph, Atari paid special attention to
this feature — and Rosocha achieved that at a constant 25
fps on PAL consoles and 30 fps on NTSC Jaguars. In fact,
Rosocha originally had an on-rails shooter in mind, based
on Namco'‘s arcade hit Starblade. The cooperation almost
ended due to the rejection and disagreement with Atari
about it. However, Iron Soldier was a liberating blow, not
only for Eclipse Software, but also in the perception of de-
velopers on Atari‘s side, who had come down to earth, as
Marc Rosocha remembers: “In the Jaguar pre-production
phase, the mood was very euphoric, but there was also

a certain arrogance and carelessness, especially among
the Tramiels and other top managers, in view of the new
console‘s huge technical lead over established systems
like Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. Doubts about the
quality of individual games, which I saw early on, were not
appreciated. [...] In 1994, the mood was still upbeat, but
the real challenge of pushing the platform with top titles

188 GamePro 3/1995
186

became more apparent. [...] Leonard Tramiel, who had
mostly thought game developers were ‘idiots who didn‘t
understand the architecture’ now realized that we were
very correct in our analysis and technical predictions and
had the machine under control. [...] Sam Tramiel then
also approached me and we discussed how we could best
scale up our know-how to other projects and perhaps pro-
vide optimized engines to other developers.” For Atari, the
collaboration with Rosocha was another stroke of luck: a
small studio willing to take an in-depth look at the Jaguar
architecture and create a 3D game at a price acceptable to
Tramiel fulfilled Atari‘s hopes — and provided the Jaguar
with another showcase game to demonstrate its technical
dominance over the competition. Last but not least, Roso-
cha was able to write a complex game in two megabytes,

a quarter of which was reserved for the music, which
Eclipse packed from the original twelve to four megabits.
This allowed Iron Soldier to go into production on Octo-
ber 31, 1994, only two weeks later than originally planned.
However, programmers of this caliber were few and far
between. Dimitri Mark LeBarge explains the complexity of
working with the Jaguar and the exceptional talent Atari
was looking for in 1994: “The nature of the Jag is that we
don‘t know what the machine is capable of producing with
hotshot coders. Many developers have already described
the internals of the Jag of having the kind of open-ended
expandability that the 2600 had (for those of you late to
that game, developers were able to find ways to tweak and
spin around the supposed capabilities of that machine for
some amazing technical results. For the time, of course).
Even Jeff Minter has expressed astonishment at the cod-
ing of a game like Iron Soldier, which came out of no-
where and blew people away at SCES. All it took was one

187

hot programmer and a lot of enthusiasm.”**° Enthusiasm
and dedication were one thing. Technical shortcomings,
especially in comparison with the increasing competition,
were another. Barely a year after the Jaguar‘s launch,

the cost-cutting decisions of the development years were
taking their toll. Marc Rosocha recalls: “During this phase
[1992/1993], technical decisions were made that would
later prove fatal. For example, a halving of texture map-
ping performance was accepted in favor of a doubling of
RAM. When I complained about this to Leonard Tramiel,
he said something like ‘even with half the texture perfor-
mance gone we are still way ahead of the competition.’
This was BS, of course, because unfortunately this didn‘t
apply to machines like 3DO and Saturn, let alone PlaySta-
tion, and you don‘t give away 50 percent of the texture
performance without needing to! Fully textured games
(Alien us Predator, Hover Strike, etc.) owed their low
framerates to this decision. Only later did we find a hack
to get some of that performance back, but all in all, that
was a completely unnecessary fuss.”

Despite some impressive games, just as many exclusive
titles disappointed with mediocre or poor gaming experi-
ences. Others represented little significant improvement
over their 16-bit counterparts. Even the Atari-related
magazine ST-Computer stated in September 1994: “Al-
though the list of Jaguar developers has grown to over
150 more or less well-known names, a qualitatively and
quantitatively convincing game boom still seems to be
missing.”°° William Thorup recalls: “Our family grew up
with Atari‘s, Atari 2600, Atari 8-bit computers, and Atari
ST‘s, so getting a Jaguar was a no brainer for people who

189 Atari Explorer Online, 09.10.1994
190 ST-Computer 9/1994

188

where already very dedicated the brand for more than a
decade. We only had the pack-in game Cybermorph for a
few months before purchasing anything else. This was be-
cause my older siblings only had so much money to spend
on such luxuries. These were my own first memories of
the console, with one of my brother‘s playing through
Cybermorph, and showing off the console to friends.

This certainly had appeal for most everyone that saw it,
and knowing now this was before the Sega Saturn and
the PlayStation, their reaction at the time makes sense.
Though, after talking with my brothers, the novelty didn‘t
take long to wear off. My brother just shared an experi-
ence with me when an older brother brought home [some]
games. Kasumi Ninja [and] Club Drive. None of these
would be considered great games, with Kasumi Ninja
clearly being the worst. After experiences like this, my
brother‘s moral towards the Jaguar was quickly reduced.”
Nevertheless, Thorup has fond memories of Club Drive,
among others, which was not taken seriously as a poly-
gon racer even back then: “The nonsensical nature of this
game made it an attractive option for me to play with my
siblings. The game struck an interesting medium between
not being playable but unique enough to give it a try more
than once. This mix made it entertaining for multiplayer
[sessions] because it didn‘t seem it was worth getting
good at because of poor design, but there was enough to
see and in multiplayer to lead hysterical laughter when
someone stumbled at the finishing line because of hitting
a polygon just right to send your car flipping and spin-
ning.” For Marion Cyrus Martin, the negative reviews in
magazines were a reason not to choose any of the Jaguar
racing games: “I remember being very interested in both
Club Drive and Checkered Flag but the reviews made me

189

hesitate in trying to get them and then I never ended up
getting either until years later when I started collecting for
the console.”

Of the 50 titles Sam Tramiel had originally promised for
Christmas 1994, just twelve had been released by the end
of November. Only two of them, Dragon: The Bruce Lee
Story and Brutal Sports Football, came from third-party
publishers. In addition, Atari was running out of time:
competitor Sega had already released its Saturn console in
Japan on November 22. Even with an optimistic estimate
— from Atari‘s point of view — a U.S. release of the Saturn
was to be expected in the fall of 1995 at the latest. In ad-
dition, Sega‘s 32X expansion for the Genesis was released
one day earlier in the U.S. at a price of $159. Within only
three weeks, Sega shipped 350,000 units, accompanied by
a nationwide advertising campaign — and thus eclipsed
Atari‘s efforts for the Jaguar in no time. After all, Sega
could appeal to a potential customer base of 18 million
Genesis owners in the U.S. The launch titles for the 32x
included Doom, Star Wars Arcade from Lucas Arts, and
Virtua Racing Deluxe, which was supposed to bring the
arcade feeling into homes. Atari was now faced with a
competing product that was more affordable for many
gamers who already owned a Genesis and could also
shovel plenty of polygons onto screens thanks to two 32-
bit RISC processors. Virtua Racing and Star Wars Arcade
served as vivid evidence of this. Moreover, no one doubted
Sega‘s finances and the games that were announced in the
following months also sounded promising. In short, the
32X started out very well and seemed to confirm the cor-
rectness of Sega‘s “triple play” strategy in the U.S.

191 Sega press release of 12.12.1994, “Demand for Sega‘s 32X
arcade upgrade unit exceeds supply”

190

Do The Math!

Atari had already realized during the summer that they
had to react. The aggressive marketing campaign Tramiel
had been talking about for a year seemed to get rolling in
December 1994. Electronic Games declared at the end of
that year: “Although the Jaguar has received critical
acclaim in recent months, lack of an aggressive advertis-
ing campaign and poor distribution made it a distant
runner in the hardware race. This could be changed by the
ad campaign which will impact holiday game equipment
purchases. The company has allotted about $11 million in
TV ad dollars to their game Alien us Predator. Atari also
aired TV ads that explained the difference between 16-,
32- and 64-Bit technology.”!%? For the 1994 Christmas
season, however, Atari was quite late, as shown by former
marketing vice president Ron Beltramo‘s statement in
Atari Explorer Online on December 4, 1994: “I am wrap-
ping up some studio production work for three new
television commercials: one featuring Kasumi Ninja, one
for Doom and one for Iron Soldier. The Doom spot will be
finished this week and be on air next week for a three
week blitz leading up to the Christmas holidays. Iron
Soldier and Kasumi Ninja will be completed next week
and on air going into the new year. All three are shaping
up to be great ads for three of the next great Jaguar
titles.”°3 The commercials ran under a distinctive slogan:
“DO THE MATH!” Back in August, Atari had conducted a
target audience analysis for this purpose with the help of
Viveros and Associates Inc. and tested several commer-
cials. Adam Urbano, who was present at the test screen-
ings with a youthful audience at the time, remembers two
of the most striking spots: “[The] Alien vs Predator

192 Electronic Games 12/1994
193 Atari Explorer Online, 04.12.1994

191

[commercial] involved an intermixing of shots of a scared,
sweaty game player, and game screen shots. The ending
shows the boy with his mom‘s hand on his shoulder. After
the camera cuts away from the boy, it shows an Alien‘s
arm holding out the mom‘s arm. Neat feature ... the ‘DO
THE MATH’ slogan is intermixed by showing some
graphics of a medical scanner with the slogan popping on.
Everyone felt the commercial was funny and very well
done, but again, the game sort of sells itself. There were a
few suggestions on this one though; the game shots
seemed short, in the one to two second range, and we felt
longer clips would be better. [...] Finally we came to the
‘school teacher’ commercial. This one begins with a
teacher on the blackboard showing the 16-bit Genesis, 32-
bit 3DO, and 64-bit Jaguar in a bit comparison. She would
ask students (all of which where adults in suits and ties)
questions as to which had better stats or which system was
better and they would respond, with ‘duh’ or ‘hmm’. This
one was obviously the ‘Kids, do you know what a Jaguar
is?’ commercial, designed to give them basic knowledge.
Intertwined were very short clips of Kasumi Ninja,
Checkered Flag, Doom, and AvP. There were more but
those stood out in my mind. All of these games looked
excellent, and there was no doubt about their smoothness.
The younger kids loved this one. They felt it was hilarious.
I still don't find it directly funny, but it is when one
realizes the similarity to the Sega commercials. It was
mentioned that someone did not like the negative com-
ments towards other systems. I for one could care less
about that part, but since this is an introduction to the Jag
commercial I mentioned they could throw in some specs
for good measure, it would fit the commercial perfectly.

192

Everyone felt it needed longer screen shots.” The first
spots from the series, like Alien vs Predator, were already
broadcast in October. Lannie Schafroth noticed it and
wrote about this on Usenet on October 4, 1994: “Has
anyone seen the new Alien game advertisement on Fox for
the Jaguar? I was watching TV and it came out and bit me.
[...] Pretty cool. It was nice to hear the word Atari on TV
again.”5 At the same time, Atari also sent out VHS tapes
to retailers with a compilation of game scenes from 30
titles with a running time of over 40 minutes. Atari hoped
these would run on the televisions of numerous stores.
But for many stores, giving Atari free promotion was
hardly enticing. Behind the scenes, dissatisfaction with
the brand with the distinctive Fuji logo was mounting at
chains such as Electronics Boutique. Asked about this in a
chat in early December 1994, Don Thomas explained:
“You are correct that Atari has been down before our rise
back up now and we are working hard already to improve
that by many means. We are, as we speak, working on
another of many direct mailings to our dealers which
include posters, videos and other pop items... We also
have people in the field making a lot of direct contacts at a
lot of corporate offices. We absolutely need to continue
working on it and I think we are going in the right direc-
tion.”!°° Because Jaguar had been missing key games for
nearly a year and marketing efforts had been too weak
compared to the competition, demand was lacking.
Important opportunities such as prominent product
placement in catalogs went unused, as disappointed Atari
fan Marty Hall noted in the Atari Computing Forum

194 Atari Online Exporer, 12.09.1994

195 https://groups.google.com/g/comp.sys.atari.st/c/
MMtfS62KtuE/m/5kKevRYCRPkJ

196 Atari Explorer Online, 04.12.1994

193

online: “You see the ads in the Sears Christmas Wish
Book? Or what passes for one nowaday... Full left hand
page of games for all the other machines. Half a right
hand page for more games. The lower right hand is the
games themselves. Up in top right hand corner of the right
hand page is a tiny tiny ad for the Jaguar and no games
anywhere.”” In addition, Atari hardly provided retailers
with any promo materials or bothered with display stands
and sales campaigns. Meanwhile, Nintendo and Sega were
doing a lot to promote their consoles and titles to the
young audience. Donkey Kong Country, launched at
Summer CES 1994 for the Super NES, was promoted by
the Japanese video game giant with an advertising budget
of $16 million in the U.S. alone. And for the latest game of
its corporate mascot, Sonic & Knuckles, Sega dug even
deeper into its pockets with a $45 million worldwide
advertising campaign.® Nintendo also produced a
promotional VHS for Donkey Kong, which it sent not only
to retailers, but also to subscribers of its in-house maga-
zine, Nintendo Power. The cassettes were actively traded
and copied, and in view of the enormous publicity,
retailers were also very interested in running videos of
Sega and Nintendo games in their stores. The big retail
chains also followed the slogan “DO THE MATH”, but
with the result that a commitment for Atari simply would
not pay off. When Donkey Kong appeared in the second
half of November 1994, it sold 500,000 copies within a
week. After a year it had already sold 7.5 million copies.'%
Figures Atari could only dream of. A year after its debut,
197 Silicon Times Report, 03.03.1995
198 Los Angeles Times, 10/15/1994, It's Gonna Be a Video Jungle
Out There, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-
10-15-ca-50485-story.html

199 Billboard, 07.01.1995, p. 77; Chicago Tribune, 26.05.1995,
Sony, Sega fire latest shot in Game Wars

194

the Atari Jaguar was just now available in stores nation-
wide. However, Atari‘s promotional efforts were barely
noticeable at the time because Nintendo and Sega were
spending many times Atari‘s budget on their titles. In
addition, third-party publishers were advertising their
Sega and Nintendo games — an important support in the
battle for market share that Atari could not hope for.
Furthermore, mediocre and problematic games like
Checkered Flag or Club Drive did little to convince
gamers of the Jaguar‘s power and, due to the small
offering for the console, carried more weight than would
have been the case with the competition. Even the Ger-
man Jaguar magazine, which premiered at the end of 1994
and was sympathetic to Atari, stated about Checkered
Flag: “Atari presents another embarrassing piece of work
on the way to a larger software offering for their Jaguar.
[...] Virtua Racing on the Mega Drive or Stunt Race for
the Super Nintendo offer way more fun despite the 16-bit
hardware.”?°° The magazine‘s verdict on Club Drive was
even more scathing: “With Club Drive, I can‘t help but
suspect that Atari wants to foist the programming at-
tempts of some young computer scientists on the game-
hungry Jaguar customer for a whopping 150 DM. [...] No
renowned game manufacturer can afford to fool his
customers like this.”2”

Despite strong competition, a long game drought, a lack of
arcade titles, a sluggish nationwide rollout, and an equally
sluggish start to nationwide marketing, Atari achieved

a 33 percent increase in sales in 1994 over the previ-

ous year, generating $38.4 million. Slightly more than
three-quarters of the revenue came from sales of Jaguar

200 Jaguar Magazine 3/1995, p. 14
201 ibidem, p. 26

195

consoles and games for the console.?°? But the apparent
success could not hide the fact that Atari had dramatically
missed its self-imposed targets: According to its own fig-
ures, the company had sold only about 100,000 consoles
by the end of 1994 — one fifth of what Sam Tramiel had
announced for this period one year before. The increase in
sales was made possible solely by Sega‘s financial injec-
tion. And despite a lead of more than twelve months over
Sega’s 32X in the American market, Atari had failed to sell
enough Jaguar consoles to be sure of a solid user base for
the coming year. 1995 would become the year in which
Jaguar’s fate was to be determined: With the expected
entry of Sony and Sega‘s next-gen Saturn console, the
market would be shaken up vigorously. How would the
Jaguar, which had barely managed to stand out from the
16-bit competition and win over buyers in its first year,
fare against the 32-bit console competition?

202 Atari Annual Report 1994, p. 11
196

The “teacher” spot for the Atari Jaguar from autumn 1994 emphasized
the 64-bit technology of the console. It claimed that the Jaguar was the
most advanced system at the time and introduced the “DO THE MATH”

slogan to a wider audience for the first time. However, this was not the
first slogan Atari ran with. “Get bit by Jaguar” was used for the first
televised commercial at the end of 1993.

OVERSEAS

A number of us in the UK and
Europe felt that a golden op-
portunity was missed.

Richard Munday

198

Downsizing Europe

For many years, Atari had generated more than 80
percent of its total sales in Europe. Unlike in the U.S.,

the brand still had a high profile in England, France and
Germany in the early 1990s, not only with the 2600 and
7800 consoles, but especially with the XE and ST home
computers. Nevertheless, consumers increasingly lost
interest during this time, even in these latitudes, because
the competition — not least from the rapidly growing

PC market — looked more and more attractive. And the
Falcon, which was offered as a step up for ST users, was
too expensive for gamers. Professional users alone did
not provide the necessary numbers of units. In view of
declining sales, Atari decided to get out of the computer
business and centralized European distribution. In 1992,
the German branch in the quiet town of Schwalbach in the
Taunus region, not far from Frankfurt, had just moved
into a new administration and warehouse building, which
had cost around 20 million DM. In March 1994, the
company moved out again — Atari left the German market.
The 1993 annual report summarizes the restructuring as
follows: “The Company manufactures and assembles its
principal products in the U.S. and as a result closed its
international purchasing operations in Taiwan, Japan and
Hong Kong. Taking advantage of recent EEC changes, the
Company ceased operations in France, Germany, Spain,
Italy, Sweden and Switzerland and centered its European
warehousing, distribution and administrative functions
into Holland. In addition, the Company closed opera-
tions in Canada and Mexico, closed some U.S. offices and
centered its North American sales offices into its head-
quarters in Sunnyvale, California. The Company closed
its Australian operations and will distribute its products

199

in the Pacific Rim and Australia through a network of
distributors.”2°3? The EEC changes mentioned here refer
to the creation of a single European market on December
31, 1992. The EU member states had already agreed on
this in the Single European Act of July 1987. As of 1993,
the four so-called fundamental freedoms now came into
force: free movement of goods, persons, services and
capital. The customs barriers between the states had thus
fallen and with them, from Atari‘s point of view, the need
for national subsidiaries. The Tramiels decided to set up

a central European warehouse and distribution center in
the Netherlands, because the distances from the container
port were particularly short there. At the same time, a
support center for distributors and developers on the con-
tinent was established there. As of March 1, 1994, the new
European Atari structure came into effect. Marketing and
sales activities were controlled from the English branch,
which thus became the European headquarters.

However, this was accompanied by a strong reduction of
marketing activities in Europe. In Germany, Atari became
practically invisible: Those who didn‘t already own an
Atari computer and followed the corresponding maga-
zines hardly found an entry into the matter. How large the
marketing budget managed in England was for the whole
of Europe from 1994 onwards, even Darryl Still cannot
say in retrospect. However, he cites as an example that he
even had to adopt U.S. marketing documents for England,
although he would have liked to change them: “We had

to run with ‘DO THE MATH’ too, which I hated because
in the UK we say Maths not Math, but we didn’t have

the available budget to produce our own advert. Things

203 Atari Annual Report 1993
200

were run very tightly at that stage.” Richard Munday,
then Financial Controller for Atari Europe, remembers:

“I vaguely remember Bob Gleadow being frustrated by
the lack of investment, but conversations between Bob,
Jack, Sam and others were generally behind closed doors.
A number of us in the UK and Europe felt that a golden
opportunity was missed.” And this at a time when the
competition was increasing their marketing budgets enor-
mously: Sega and Nintendo spent a combined £24 million
on advertising campaigns in the UK in 1993. The year
before, the figure was just under ten million, and in 1991 it
was less than £3 million.?“ It was up to Darryl Still alone
to stir up interest in the Jaguar in England with a great
deal of effort and persuasion. This succeeded because he
maintained close relations to the magazine EDGE, which
reported regularly on Atari‘s new console. Mike Beaton
remembers: “The Jaguar wasn’t unknown in Britain, and
that was because the EDGE was a very influential games
magazine and they got wind that something was hap-
pening. That was basically free advertising for Atari.” In
addition, Still also succeeded in placing the Jaguar in
several episodes of the TV show ‘Bad Influence!’ which
was extremely popular among young gamers and was en-
tirely devoted to video games. Great Britain was the most
important market outside the U.S. for Atari when it came
to video games. Darryl Still explains: “UK definitely took
precedence, which was mainly because it was the leading
games market for the ST, whereas Germany saw that as

a much more DTP machine. So UK consumers were an
easier sell. Atari Germany did not have a great appetite for
the Jaguar. France were more enthusiastic, but everything
would have needed to be translated and localised for that

204 EDGE 2/1994, p. 66
201

market, so as UK could take US English stock, it was first
in line.” This is also reflected in the packaging of the first
seven games released, the backs of which were in English
only. It was only the titles released from October 1994
onwards that featured a three-column layout on the back
of the packaging with information in English, French

and German. But despite the priority within Europe, the
English branch sat on the fence for months when it came
to Jaguar consoles. The team there had received only
around 2,500 consoles for the 1993 Christmas season,
while pre-orders were many times higher. Things didn‘t
look much better in the first few months of 1994. “After we
missed the first Christmas, and the rival consoles got an
advantage, it was always going to be an uphill battle. We
farmed what stock we could get through specific retail, but
demand was much lower than it had been,” Darryl Still
explains. According to EDGE, HMV and Virgin stores each
received fewer than 100 units for the 1993 Christmas sale,
and Gerry Berkley, then games manager at HMV, told
EDGE: “T have to say that it [the Jaguar launch] wasn‘t
particularly well handled, and in the end it was hardly
worth the effort. There‘s been a lot of bad feeling created.
I don‘t think Atari have done themselves any favours. [...]
We've had a few back since Christmas. I believe there's

a problem with the lead. It's a difficult situation because
we'd like to exchange them but there are no stocks in the
country.”?°5 The situation for English Atari enthusiasts
hardly improved in the following months either: Atari
Explorer Online reported from the ECTS in London in
April 1994, one of the most important video game fairs in
Europe at the time, that the official sales start originally
planned for this spring would probably be postponed to

205 EDGE 4/1994, p. 13
202

September 1994. At the same time, the Jaguar won the
award for the best hardware of the year at the ECTS — but
remained hardly available, much to the annoyance of

the repeatedly disappointed potential buyers.?°° Darryl
Still found himself in the unenviable position of having

to placate disgruntled retailers, disappointed pre-order-
ers, and an astonished press alike — not an ideal starting
point for a successful console launch for Atari‘s European
headquarters.

Practically no consoles made it to Germany officially in
1993. First print ads like the one from Game Express from
Munich in video game magazines showed a price of

599 DM in March 1994, while the 3DO cost aroud

1,499 DM. The Jaguar could not be found in stores until
the second half of 1994, as ST Computer reported: “The
supply situation for the Jaguar hardware and software
seems to be improving for Germany as well. In a per-
sonal conversation, Atari press spokesman Peter Walker
informed us that a large German department store chain
could be won for the area-wide distribution of the Jaguar.
The first units should already be in the department stores
by the time this issue goes to press.”°” However, the
question of an official distribution for Germany seemed to
be settled only in autumn 1994. Pagedown took over the
technical and end customer support for Atari‘s Jaguar and
gave an insight into the hair-raising communication policy
from Sunnyvale with regard to the Jaguar sales figures in
an interview with the magazine Atari Inside: “According
to unconfirmed statements, about 800,000 consoles have
been sold in the USA so far. In May 1994 Mr. Paul Welch
(Sales Manager Atari UK) told us the number of about

206 Atari Exporer Online, 23.04.1994
207 ST-Computer 9/1994

203

Mega Drive Il mit
1 le Joypads u. 4 Spielen

_ 349:

Mega CD II:
Mit

3 tM O9e

Mega Drive Il 199
2| mitt Joypad es ~

Mit 1 Joypad 99
5] und 4\ spiel e

Game Gear

6] mit4 spielen 249:

7} 1 Joypad und 1 Spiel

599:

{SEGA Mega Drive Il Ma:
gnum-Set. Dor Moga Drive Ii
Videospiol«Computer mit 2 Joy:
pads unddonSplelen,,Sonio2
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Moga Drive Il ist ein 16 Bit
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= das Grundgerét wie vor,
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Best.-Nr. 684.742, DM/449.-
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eingebauten Spiell Sonic, der
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& SEGA Game Gear 4 Fun! Der
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kanninsgesamt4096 Farben, 32
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tes Zubehor: Cassette mit 4
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Mehr Zubehor fiir SEGA
gibt’s auf Seite 1257.

Jaguar 64-Bit Video-

mputer. Komplett

1 Joypad, Antennen-
kabel und Netzteil. Mit seinen 5
Prozessoren bietet der Jaguar
eine atemberaubende, gesto-
chen scharfe 3D-Farbgrafik so-
wie Stereo-Ton in CD-Qualitat.
Jenach Spielcassette kannman
staunen, wie Gegenstande sich
verwandeln oder gedreht, ge-

siehe )

mecwee VT

—

MEaNED

<o
(aM
Sais}

kann der Jaguar darstellen.
Best-Nr.725.910 DM 599.-

8 Lutronic Antennenum-

schalter — 2fach.
Best-Nr. 791.894 DM14.95 ea
Kabelfernsehtauglicher Emp- Raiden Dino Dudes/
fanger-Umschalter — 3fach. Evolution.
Best.-Nr. 792.794 0M19.95 176.831 119.95 ~ 178,630 119.95

Alles in 48 Stunden lieferbar — bei telefonischer Bestellung,

Page from the German “Quelle Katalog”, winter edition 1994/95. T.

ari Jaguar is shown with a pricetag of 599 DM, including one controller
and Cybermorph. Prices for other games range from 119,95 DM (Raiden)
up to 159,95 (AvP). Games for the Sega Mega Drive are listed from 49,95
DM (Rocket Knight Adventures) to 149,95 DM (Sonic 3) with a Mega
Drive console plus 4 games costing 349 DM.

DATART
JAGUAR

ATARI Jaguar 64-|
6 B deospiel-Computer.
Komplett mit den Spielen Cyber-
morph und Tempest, 2 Joypads,
Antennenkabel und Netzteil. Mit
‘seinen 5 Prozessoren bietet der
Jaguar eine atemberaubende,
gestochen scharfe 3D-Farbgra-
ie sowie Stereo-Ton in CD-Qua-

Hover Strike Super Bumout
692.843 119.95 693.750 119.95

Bestell-Nr. 725.910 DM 499,-

ATARI Joypad einzeln.
Bestell-Nr. 176.511 DM95.95

Lutronic. _ Kabelfernsehtaugli-
cher Empfanger-Umschalter,
Sfach.

Bestell-Nr. 792.794 DM 15.95

Ee
Alien vs Predator Bubsy the Bobcat
200.161 149.95 465.061 99.95

Checkered Flag Club Drive Crescent Galaxy Dragon — Bruce
951.022 149.95 230.011 129.95 179.532 89.95 Lee Story

Zool Il

Val D'lsere Skiing Tempest 2000
733,602 129.95 465.982 129.95 177.732 129.95 732.701 99.95

Iron Soldier

H a mt
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Page from the German “Quelle Katalog”, winter edition 1995/96. The
Atari Jaguar is shown with a pricetag of 499 DM, including two control-
lers and the games Tempest 2000 and Cybermorph. It is considerably
cheaper than a Sega Saturn, listed at 749 DM. This is the last time Quelle
advertised the Jaguar in their main catalogue.

205

500,000 units for the USA. Sales in Germany should eas-
ily reach 30 percent of the American market.”?°° When
asked by the editors why Atari didn‘t want to manage the
distribution themselves with expected sales figures of
around 200,000 units, the representative from Pagedown
replied: Atari had simply ruled out direct sales. In fact, the
worldwide sales figures of the Jaguar were about 100,000
units at the end of 1994, as the annual report clearly
showed. But distributers had no way of knowing that
until its publication in spring 1995. Moreover, dealers and
distributors in Europe could not hope for a sales-promot-
ing marketing and advertising budget from Atari. Those
who did not look for new information about Atari‘s new
console in Germany themselves got almost no information
at all. For die-hard Atari fans like André Motzkus, on the
other hand, the Jaguar was eagerly awaited: “It was prob-
ably in the late summer of 1994, at the time I was working
as a salesman for the Berlin company Innova in the PC
and telecommunications sector. One day, my girlfriend

at the time surprised me, standing in the store in front of
my sales counter with a grin on her face and a beautiful
black cardboard box under her arm. She had made me a
mad joy with it! I‘ve been an Atarian and collector since
the mid-80s, and of course I didn‘t have the Jaguar at the
time. As far as I remember, she had bought it at Karstadt
at Hermannplatz [in Berlin] for 599 DM. It came with

a controller and the game Cybermorph. When I played
Cybermorph for the first time, it was pretty cool, the huge
color palette of the Jaguar and the clean stereo sound
made quite an impression. But I didn‘t play much with the
Jag back then. The cartridge selection was very manage-
able and priced fairly hefty, so rather not something for

208 Atari Inside 10-11/1994
206

a salesman on a meager salary.” Another problem for
German Jaguar buyers: Two of the most popular titles for
the console released in 1994 — Wolfenstein 3D and Doom
— were indexed in Germany and thus simply not avail-
able. The already small game selection for the Jaguar thus
shrank even more. ST-Computer joked not without reason
in its December 1994 issue: “Buy AvP fast, before the
‘Predator Studio in Bonn’ catches wind of it.”?°° They were
referring to the Federal Review Board for Media Harmful
to Young Persons in Bonn, the capital of Germany at that
time, which rigorously restricted the sale of overly brutal
games since the 1980s. However, the fact that there was
no corresponding entry there and Alien vs Predator was
not indexed may be taken as an indication of how insig-
nificant the quantities of this specific title and the Jaguar
console were for the German market.

At the beginning of September 1994, Atari finally seemed
to have some larger marketing budget for the ECTS in
London. Although the company itself was not represented
at the fair, it had invited selected press representatives

to a special show in the London Planetarium, which had
been rented for one evening. Magazine Maniac won-
dered about a special encounter in the queue in front of
the entrance: The editor of the magazine met Rebellion
boss Jason Kingsley, “who, however, didn‘t know what
to expect either — a bit strange that the maker of Alien vs
Predator had an even higher invitation number than us
and only got one ticket for his nine-man team.””*° When
the front doors finally opened, entertainers dressed as
Marines urged guests to move quickly while constantly
shouting “Move! Move!”. Attendees had to walk briskly

209 ST-Computer 12/1994
210 Maniac 11/1994, pp. 18-24

207

through the dry fog into the foyer of the Planeratium.
There were a number of Jaguar kiosks there with games
such as Cybermorph, Wolfenstein 3D, and demos of
Kasumi Ninja and Checkered Flag. In addition, “DO THE
MATH” commercials from the U.S. flickered across the
screens — no TV commercials were planned for Europe.
The attendees were welcomed by Black Adder star Tony
Robinson, who guided them through the entire event, ac-
companied by Atari marketing manager Darryl Still. After
a short time in which those present had the opportunity
to let everything sink in or to play around here and there,
a demonstration of the titles that Atari would soon release
began: among others, the real-time tactics game Can-
non Fodder was shown, which probably everyone present
already knew from the Amiga version released over a year
earlier, which incidentally formed the basis for the Jaguar
one. Accolade‘s jump-and-run Bubsy in: Fractured Furry
Tales — an exclusive title for the Jaguar, after all — pro-
vided much-needed mascot support in the competition
with Mario and Sonic, although Bubsy didn‘t even begin
to exude as much traction as those gaming icons. Club
Drive‘s presentation caused mixed reactions in the audi-
ence. Technically, the high resolution was impressive, but
graphics, sound and game depth didn‘t seem very promis-
ing. Basically, the 3D racer showed polygon graphics that
looked like they were taken from early 90s PC games.
Although the title ran smoothly, it looked rather barren
and uninviting even compared to the similarly unadorned
Stunt Race FX on the SNES, which had been available in
the U.S. since July. Stunt Race made it to the best-selling
SNES game in the UK upon its release in October 1994.
Club Drive, on the other hand, became a laughing stock.74

211 Computer & Video Games 12/1994, p. 145
208

German games magazine Maniac wrote: “At some im-
ages, such as the intro to Clubdrive, the audience burst
out laughing.”* The founder of the British teletext video
game magazine Digitiser, Paul Rose, also recalled in a text
on his website: “The Atari presentation was introduced by
Robinson, followed by a highlights reel showing upcoming
Jaguar games. The assembled gaming press — by this time
far too drunk — greeted the entire thing with jeers and
catcalls. For some reason, Atari had decided to include
Club Drive — a risible drive ‘em up, which clearly was in
an unfinished state. The audience burst out laughing. It
was, no pun intended, a car crash — and it sobered us up
quickly. Our mood on the way out was despondent, low.
We bumped into a distraught and furious Darry] Still,
who was fuming from the audience’s response. We tried
to calm him down, and mentioned that their opinion

was sure to change once Club Drive was finished. ‘But

it is finished,’ he squeaked, the desperation in his voice
impossible to ignore. ‘That‘s the finished game!’ It felt like
game over for Atari. Based upon the reaction that night,
the headlines would not be kind, and we could sense Still‘s
frustration as he struggled to control the careening PR
wagon, with virtually no support from his Atari bosses. He
seemed isolated.”*!3 The German GamePro, on the other
hand, drew a positive conclusion to Club Drive despite

its limitations: “All in all, this is a a rather unusual racing
game with many surprises, which will hopefully quickly
find its way into the cartridge slots here.”*4 In addition,
game scenes from the Chupa-Chups promotional game
Zool 2, the soccer simulation Sensible Soccer and from

212 Maniac 11/1994, p. 18-24

213 The Fall of Atari: Eyewitness Account — by Mr. Biffo,
18.05.2017, www.digitiser2000.com/main-page/
the-fall-of-atari-eyewitness-account-by-mr-biffo

214 GamePro 10/1994, p. 25

209

the action adventure Flashback were shown — all of them
Amiga ports as well. Then finally followed the exclusive
titles that the press had been waiting for: Checkered Flag
in a near-final version, a level from Kasumi Ninja that
should convince Mortal Kombat fans of the Jaguar, and

a screening of an advanced but not yet final version of
Alien us Predator. ST-Computer was at least convinced by
Atari‘s flagship title: “All in all, AvP lived up to its advance
praises and was able to fully display its extremely dense
atmosphere, impressive animations and speed. Atari press
spokesman Peter Walker confirmed to us in an interview
that AvP will begin shipping on October 20, and that

a massive advertising campaign (TV & magazines) will

be launched at the same time.””*° Maniac, on the other
hand, drew a sobering conclusion: “After the show, actors
dressed as Marines shooed the surly crowd of journalists
out of the hall again. Some dry fog and a playable level of
Kasumi Ninja — that was all Atari had to offer in Lon-
don.”

Small in Japan

While Atari had just brought the Jaguar into some stores
in Europe in late fall of 1994 and hoped for the best
without spending any advertising budget, the traditional
video game brand also ventured into the homeland of its
declared enemies in November of the same year: Japan.
Here, where Nintendo and Sega were battling for suprem-
acy and Sony was on the verge of challenging both with its
own console, Atari stepped up to the plate on November
21 with the release of the Jaguar. As a pack-in-game, they
decided to go with the strongest horse in Atari‘s gaming

215 ST-Computer, 10/1994, Jaguar Premiere & ECTS Fair
in London
216 Maniac 11/1994, p. 18-24

210

stable, Alien vs Predator. The Jaguar was available in all
Toys “R” Us stores throughout Japan — 25 in total. Tokyo-
based Mumin took over distribution for Atari, and Sam
Tramiel said in a press release: “The Japanese are very se-
rious about their video game systems, and they will choose
the system with the best graphics and most sophisticated
playing environment. We think that if they are given the
chance to compare, Japanese gamers will choose Atari
Jaguar. We have the best game system in the business,

hit games like Alien us Predator and the soon-to-be-re-
leased Doom, and we are expanding our distribution. The
momentum for Jaguar is building every day.””” With this,
Sam Tramiel followed the company policy of his father,
who had tried again and again to gain a foothold on the
Japanese market, first at Commodore and then at Atari

— without succeeding. This time, the chances were par-
ticularly bad for Atari: Only one day after the launch of the
Jaguar was announced, Sega‘s new 32-bit game console
Saturn appeared, together with a conversion of the im-
mensely popular arcade game Virtua Fighter. Within one
day, Sega sold at least 170,000 consoles.?* On December
3, Sony‘s PlayStation was released along with eight games,
including Ridge Racer, a conversion of Namco‘s arcade
version which probably most clearly illustrated the ca-
pabilities of the new console. Within two days, Sony sold
100,000 consoles.”? Sam Tramiel was to be proven right:
Japanese consumers opted for the systems with the best
graphics and the most sophisticated games — the Jaguar,
however, was not on that list. By March 1995, Atari had
sold only about 2,000 consoles in the Land of the Rising

217 Atari Press Release, 21.11.1994, “Atari Stalks Japan”
218 Blake Harris, Console Wars, p. 536
219 New York Times, Dec. 11, 1994, “For 3DO, a Make-or-Break

Season”

211

Sun.”?° Distributor Mumin soon turned its back on them,
and Messe Sansao subsequently took over distribution of
other titles for the rest of the year. The attack on the home
market of Nintendo, Sega and Sony had failed bitterly. In
1995, Atari had to finally sell the Jaguar in large num-
bers under all circumstances to have a chance against the
strong console competition during the Christmas season.

220 Famitsu, 6/16/1995, p. 8
212

213

WINTER IS COMING

[Jaguar is] a very, very power-
ful machine. In comparison,
looking at all the numbers, it’s
more powerful than 3DO, about
the same as a Saturn, anda
little bit less than a PlayStation.

Sam Tramiel

214

During the time the Jaguar finally shipped in somewhat
noticable quantities in Europe, Atari had experienced a
sales debacle with its next-gen console in Japan. In the
U.S., the numbers had also not developed as expected.
However, while Atari still had difficulties to meet the
demand at the beginning of 1994, the tide turned in the
second half of the year. With over a year‘s lead over the
competition‘s next-gen consoles, Atari had sold only as
many units in the U.S. as Sony had sold in two days at
the launch of their PlayStation in Japan. The situation
was serious, and there was still no sign of the CD drive
for the Jaguar that had already been presented in the
summer of 1993. At the Winter CES in Las Vegas from
January 6 to 9, 1995, Atari nevertheless only drew gentle
consequences and announced to offer the Jaguar with-
out a game for $199 from now on — which, however, was
still slightly above the price of Sega‘s 32X and at best
brought gamers a saving of $10-$20 if they chose one of
the cheaper cartridges. At least they could choose their
desired title to go with the console. When Joe Catedula
of Tronix Multimedia spoke to the Tramiels at the show
for Atari Explorer Online and asked about the CD drive,
the answer was: “When enough CD games are available,
we'll release it — although we could have released it just
so folks can fiddle with the excellent VLM.”*” This Virtual
Light Machine, or VLM for short, was indeed something
special for the time. Programmer Jeff Minter recalls in
an issue of Atari Explorer Online: “I‘ve been working

on lightsynth stuff since 1984 on various platforms. The
Jag CD-ROM lightsynth draws on that past expierence,
using the best algorithms from those earlier generations
and applying Jag specialities to them, like shaded poly

221 Atari Explorer Online, 16.01.1995
215

drawing and digital feedback (“Melt-o-Vision’, as Atari

call it). Parameters governing pattern generation may be
controlled by oscillators, modified by an audio spectrum
analyser to produce patterns which respond to the music
from CD, and altered by the ‘player’, or any combination
of the three, effectively allowing you to ‘jam’ in graphics
along to your favourite music. VLM is not a Llamasoft
project; a few years ago I teamed up with a couple of other
guys who were also interested in the lightsynth idea, and
we formed the Virtual Light Company to develop our ideas
(and we formed the Co. a year and a half before Gibson‘s
latest book came out, btw). The VLM is a VLC-developed
program; I‘m doing the graphics and the very excellent

Dr. Ian Bennett is doing the audio frequency analysis, as
his Maths is better than mine!”2?? In his book about the
history of Llamasoft, Minter goes into further detail about
the inspiration and impact of VLM: “When I came to do
Tempest 2000 it seemed natural to use the same kind of
ideas for in-game effects as I was using in the VLM — the
original coin-op Tempest was already beautifully abstract
and there was no need to approximate any form of realism
in taking the design forward. [...] The graphical techniques
I used for the game were further developed into the music
visualisation system built into the Jaguar CD-ROM unit,
which I also called VLM. The techniques developed in Jag-
uar VLM inspired much of the first wave of music visualis-
ers which started to emerge later in the 90s on the PC and
Macintosh.”??3

However, as impressive as these colorful visuals on the
Jaguar CD might have been at the time, the development
of major CD games was not yet complete at Winter CES.

222 Atari Explorer Online, 02.04.1994
223 Jeff Minter, A History of Llamasoft, p. 205-206

216

As a planned release date, Billboard magazine mentioned
early 1995 and a price of $149.99.2%4 Sam Tramiel also
repeated mantra-like in press releases at the show that

50 games would be available for the Jaguar by the sum-
mer of that year. He also went into detail about what
gamers could expect specifically: “In the first half of

1995, we expect many hit titles, including Fight for Life,
Space War 2000, Hover Strike, Ultra Vortex and Ray-
man. These and other titles will substantially increase

the Jaguar library. [...] We are working with over 200
developers to bring a wide variety of new games to the
64-bit Atari Jaguar in 1995. The powerful Jaguar technol-
ogy can handle popular arcade games like Primal Rage or
provide the speed and graphics necessary for brand new
games like Batman Forever and Thea Realm Fighters.
[...] Atari Jaguar owners will play hockey with Brett Hull,
golf with Jack Nicklaus, basketball with Charles Bark-
ley and all the baseball they want.”2*5 Sports simulations
in particular, a genre that had already brought the Sega
Gensis plenty of customers in its battle against Nintendo‘s
SNES, were considered crucial. However, the Jaguar did
not have a single title in this segment. Furthermore, Atari
also picked up the network idea again with the so-called
JagLink, which could connect multiple consoles with a
maximum range of up to 100 feet. The announcement of a
VR headset for the Jaguar, which Atari wanted to launch
for Christmas 1995, caused some media interest, but since
Atari couldn‘t present anything about it at that time, this
announcement remained a side note. All in all, there was
little exciting to discover for passing visitors, as EDGE

224 Billboard 1/95, p. 70

225 Atari Press Releases: “Atari announces winning line-up of
Jaguar titles for first half of 1995”, “Coming attractions for
Atari Jaguar”, “Sports Titles coming from Atari”

217

stated: “The cartridge software line-up for the Jaguar was
depressingly ordinary. More than anything, Atari’s games
simply didn’t look any different from most 16-bit console
games.”??° Maniac was also less than enthusiastic about
the Atari adaptations of games that were available for Nin-
tendo SNES and Sega Genesis as well: “A large part of the
conversions looked only minimally better than on Mega
Drive and Super Nintendo.”2”’ An interesting hardware
development, on the other hand, could only be seen for a
few selected journalists: “Behind closed doors, Atari un-
veiled a prototype model of an all-in-one Jaguar with CD
drive.”??8 However, the all-in-one Jaguar started with little
confidence: Sam Tramiel was convinced that CD-based
consoles were too expensive and continued to favor the
modular approach of a cartridge console plus CD add-on.
Ultimate Future Games scoffed in the face of competition
that clearly saw it differently: “Obviously the geezers at
Sony and Sega are bonkers.”279

Atari didn‘t make big headlines with its appearance in
close proximity to Sega, on the contrary. The online
magazine Silicon Times Report stated a few days after
the Winter CES: “With over 200 developers signed, you
would think that there would be more than 17 games
available for the Jaguar right now. Are there that many
developers taking a ‘wait and see’ attitude? No one can
afford to wait too long — the patience is wearing thin for
many. In Thursday‘s USA Today, a brief note regard-
ing Atari‘s presence at the WCES was deafening: ‘Atari‘s
32-bit [yes, it misstated this!] Jaguar cartridge system

226 EDGE 3/1995, p. 9

227 Maniac 3/1995, p. 24

228 EDGE 3/1995, p. 9

229 Ultimate Future Games 3/1995, p. 10

218

has good games coming, but it may be too little, too late.
The price dropped $50 to $199; a CD add-on is due soon.’
In another blurb elsewhere on the page was the follow-
ing: ‘Atari. The top title is the arcade hit Primal Rage
(Time-Warner, November); it‘s also due this fall for other
systems.’”?° After the very successful launch of PlaySta-
tion and Saturn in Japan, all attention belonged to the
new next-gen consoles from the Far East. Their launch on
the American market was coming up in a few months, and
what the two rivals had shown so far looked very promis-
ing. Nintendo, on the other hand, did not show its “Ultra
64” console which was to follow the still-popular SNES,
but instead put the portable Virtual Boy on display — a
portable console with a tripod and two small, red mono-
chrome screens that created a 3D effect for users. Only
one boxing game and one pinball title were playable, while
videos of other games were shown on TVs. Polygons also
played an important role on Nintendo‘s booth. There, the
aging SNES seemed to still have some aces up its sleeve
thanks to the SuperFX chip: The helicopter simulation
Comanche with voxel graphics could be marveled at in an
early version, which conjured up impressive 3D worlds
comparatively smoothly on the screen — and disappeared
into oblivion just as quickly after the fair. So did the un-
adorned but nimble polygon brawler FX Fighter, which
was clearly reminiscent of Sega‘s Virtua Fighter. The 3D
space shooter Starwing 2, which Nintendo announced
for a late summer release, seemed far more promising

— although that title also disappeared into the archives

of the Japanese video game giant and was only officially
released as an unlockable title for the Super NES Mini in
2017. Acclaim‘s motocross racer Dirt Trax FX provided

230 Silicon Times Report, 13.01.1995
219

fast-paced 3D racing action and made it to market in June
1995. Even if the 3D experience on the SNES was not the
best one out there, the games seemed to be nice enough
for the price of the console. All Nintendo really hoped the
SuperFX games would do at this point was to keep the
SNES in the market just a little bit longer until the Ultra
64 was ready. And it worked.

Over at Sega U.S., the situation was not that easy for Tom
Kalinske. He stated that there would be 100 games for
Sega‘s 32X by Christmas. But by the end of the year, just
over a third of that figure had been released, including
games already released in 1994. The reason was that Sega
Japan had already written off the add-on for the aging
Genesis and wanted to concentrate fully on the Saturn.
The once heralded “triple play” strategy seemed to be a
thing of the past, because Sega was pretty sure it had a
winner with Saturn. Understandably so, as it sure did
come along impressive: Two Hitachi 32-bit CPUs were at
work there. In addition, there is one Motorola 68000 and
dedicated chips for sound and graphics. An impressive
system for the time, but Atari boss Sam Tramiel was not
very impressed by it, as he declared in spring 1995: “In
my humble opinion, 3DO will not be here as a hardware
manufacturer 18 months from now. Sony I think will be

a threat. Saturn... as much as I like Sega as a company, I
think Saturn is a pooch. We’ve looked inside and it is an
architectural mess. [...] [Jaguar is] a very, very powerful
machine. In comparison, looking at all the numbers, it’s
more powerful than 3DO, about the same as a Saturn,
and a little bit less than a PlayStation.”23* But the reality
looked quite different: In Japan, the Saturn had already

231 EDGE 7/1995, Jaguar Supplement, p. 10
220

shown that it had few problems with texture mapping and
heaps of polygons. The Jaguar could not offer a compa-
rably fast and similarly impressive 3D racing game like
Daytona USA. Texture-less, choppy-playing and judder-
ing titles Checkered Flag and Club Drive didn‘t even come
close to the performance the Saturn seemed to offer. For
gamers, there was no question which of the two systems
seemed more technically advanced — regardless of what
the enumeration of bits and bytes theoretically said about
the hardware in question. And while the next-gen rivals
wanted to convince via their performance and sensational
games, Atari relied on a comparatively low price as a ma-
jor selling point and worked on being able to produce and
sell the Jaguar even more cheaply: “Tornado is a totally
integrated one-chip Jaguar design. It’s a very aggressive
chip design, using 0.35 micron technology, and will be a
very, very low-cost Jaguar set. There will be one Tornado
chip, a DRAM chip and that’s it — everything else will

be gone. It will be a very low-priced Jaguar,”*** Tramiel
explained. However, this tornado only kicked up dust be-
hind closed doors and the project was quickly shelved.

Roar or Meauw?

Among the titles Atari announced at Winter CES for the
first half of 1995, according to a press release, was the 3D
brawling game Fight For Life, which would take on Sega‘s
Virua Fighter and Sony‘s Toshinden at the same time.
Also included were the space shooter SpaceWar 2000,
the first-person shooter Hover Strike, which was meant
to prove that the Jaguar could handle texture mapping,
another Mortal Kombat clone called Ultra Vortek, and
Ubisoft's colorful jump ‘n run Rayman. In another press

232 EDGE 7/1995, Jaguar Supplement, p. 10
221

release, Atari also announced that two well-known brands
for the Jaguar would be released this year, Batman Forev-
er and Primal Rage. They also announced a third Mortal
Komat clone after Kasumi Ninja and Ultra Vortek: Thea
Realm Fighters. Atari emphasized the parallels to the in-
famous original as much as possible: For the motion-cap-
turing of the players, they had engaged numerous martial
artists who had already lent their faces and fighting styles
to many characters in Mortal Kombat: Ho Sung Pak aka
Liu Kang, Phillip Ahn aka Shang Tsung, Katalin Zamiar
aka Kitana, Mileena and Jade, and Daniel Pesina aka
Johnny Cage. Atari seemed willing to do anything to bring
the Mortal Kombat experience to the Jaguar — except pay
for the actual license. But as far as the press was con-
cerned, the former roar of the feline console predator had
turned into a barely audible meow. Gaming magazines
were increasingly focused on the question of who would
probably make the race in the hardware segment: Sony

or Sega? Saturn and PlayStation found plenty of space in
magazine pages, while SNES and Genesis bravely held
their ground until their successors took over. Without
sensational conversions and a substantial advertising bud-
get, Atari had a bad hand in the battle for market share

in 1995. And after the expensive advertising campaign
around Christmas, the Tramiels drastically cut the adver-
tising budget again at the beginning of the year.*83 How
many of the console manufacturers would even be able to
survive the next few years? Lawrence Probst, president
and chief executive at Electronic Arts, told the New York
Times: “I actually think there‘s room for three players as
we look forward, but I can‘t imagine there‘s room for four
or five.”234 Meanwhile, publishers did little to make Jaguar

233 Silicon Times Report, 13.01.1995
234 The New York Times, 08.05.1995, Information Technology:

222

versions of their games stand out alongside the higher-
selling but older platforms. For example, when Virgin
advertised Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story in European
magazines in early 1995, the Jaguar logo didn‘t even ap-
pear. Instead, the logos for SNES and Mega Drive, as well
as the 8-bit Game Gear and Master System consoles, were
emblazoned at the bottom of the ad.”35 The commercial for
Troy Aikman Football — a game that found its way onto
the Jaguar six months after its SNES premiere — remained
the only TV spot by a third-party publisher to prominently
feature the Atari implementation alongside the SNES and
Genesis versions.

Visions of the future
As the Jaguar fell short of expectations, the decision was
made internally to lower the price of the console once
again. In February, when some store chains offered the
barely selling Jaguar at a discount, Sam Tramiel had
stated: “The recent price decrease for the Jaguar at Toys
‘R’ Us and Babbages, and Electronic Boutique, has caused
a lot of speculation amongst our loyal Jaguar fans. Please
don't go over the edge in your speculation. We at Atari
will be making a public announcement in the very near
future, end Feb[ruary] early March, about the future pric-
ing plans for Jaguar. Our plans revolve around the fact
that we have cost reduced the system and want to make
the Jag a mass market product. The announced price will
make the Jag very affordable and will insure its success in
the marketplace.””°° Atari had to act to bring the Jaguar
to market in larger numbers as quickly as possible. Since
top games were still a long time coming, Atari could only
Video Game War Looms in Hardware

235 Ultimate Future Games 1/1995, p. 8
236 Silicon Times Report, 24.02.1995

223

influence the price in the short term. The idea came from
the former Commodore founder himself, as Robert A.
Jung recalls in Silicon Times Report: “The $159 Jaguar
packages apparently came directly from Jack Tramiel
himself. While Sam and Garry and Leonard were toying
around with the idea of discount coupons after the Win-
ter CES, Jack just said, ‘Why don‘t we knock the price
down to $159?’ The idea is to duplicate the success of the
Commodore 64 by pricing it so low that people can‘t pass
up the deal.”?37 It was a tried-and-true answer to sluggish
sales that not only helped the C64 reach new groups of
buyers. Rather, this tactic became the declared motto of
the company that Jack Tramiel had taken over in 1984:
Power without the Price. The Jaguar may have been less
powerful than Saturn or PlayStation. But it was an unbeat-
able entry into the world of next-generation hardware.
“[Sony and Sega] don’t come close in price. I think this
will be a major influence — what can a person afford?
When a person is buying a games machine for their kids,
or a young person is buying a games machine, what will
they pay out of their pocket,”?3* asked Sam Tramiel in

an interview with EDGE, firmly expecting the consumer
answer to be in favor of the Jaguar. Senior Vice President
Dean Fox also stated in relation to the expected prices of
Saturn and PlayStation: “I think a lot of people are going
to get out of their Barcaloungers, and say, “Yes, that‘s the
best graphics I‘ve ever seen.’ But they‘re also going to say
‘Tm not going to spend $400 for a game machine.’””*3? On
March 21, 1995, Atari announced the price reduction in

a press release. But this decision came from the heyday

237 Silicon Times Report, 14.04.1995
238 EDGE 7/1995, Jaguar Supplement, p. 10
239 The New York Times, 08.05.1995, Information Technology:

Video Game War Looms in Hardware

224

of the home computer era ten years earlier. At that time,
computers and the idea of owning one were still relatively
new to consumers. Many of the models available on the
market also had a very manageable range of applications
and games to offer. However, the video game industry
had long stopped to function according to this pattern.
Sega Genesis and Nintendo SNES had already sold to
millions of households in the U.S., and there were still
plenty of new games coming out for the 16-bit consoles

in 1995. Sellers were indeed ready for a new generation
of consoles, as had been shown by the continued decline
in sales of the two top dogs over the past year. However,
it seemed unlikely that the Jaguar would be their first
choice. Those who were simply looking for an inexpensive
system found entry-level consoles for less than $100 with
an enormous selection of games in the 16-bit systems from
Nintendo and Sega. This was all the more crucial because
many of the titles available for Jaguar, Genesis, SNES, or
even Amiga and ST barely stood out enough on the 64-bit
console to justify the higher price: Bubsy (although an
exclusive version, there were comparable titles under that
name on other systems), Brutal Sports Football, Cannon
Fodder, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Evolution Dino
Dudes (which was basically a better looking version of
Humans), Raiden, Syndicate, Theme Park, Troy Aik-
man Football, Val D‘Isere Skiing and Snowboarding, and
Wolfenstein 3D. Exclusive titles like Iron Soldier, Tempest
2000, and Alien us Predator weren't appealing enough to
trigger critical mass in sales. Atari needed a sensational
title that would guarantee high demand — and on March
13, 1995, it brought up a name that Jaguar fans had long
hoped for: Mortal Kombat.

225

In the spring, the former video game pioneer announced
the results for the fourth quarter of 1994, according to
which Atari had closed the year with a plus of $9.4 million
— the main reason for this was the lavish settlement with
Sega over the past patent dispute. Atari‘s war chest was
well filled for the first time in years with cash reserves of
about $81 million and there was even an important piece
of news to announce. Sam Tramiel explained this in the
press release regarding the quarterly results: “Although
we are disappointed that our expectations for Jaguar
were not met in the fourth quarter due to delayed game
software, we believe we have taken corrective actions to
ensure an ongoing stream of software through 1995 and
beyond. Today, we have announced a publishing arrange-
ment with Williams Entertainment for Mortal Kombat
II and will be announcing another significant arrange-
ment with a major software publisher shortly. Those titles,
along with some of Jaguar's current hit titles such as
Tempest 2000, Alien vs Predator, Doom and Val d‘Tsere
Skiing will be added to the list of titles that will be avail-
able for Jaguar.”*4° The news that Mortal Kombat III
would be released for the Jaguar once again made some
big headlines in video game magazines: “Atari are often
criticised for their lack of quality software support for the
Jaguar — but now they’ve gone out and scored possibly the
software coup of the year [...] Atari have announced that
they've secured the rights to publish the first home ver-
sion,”4' raved CVG magazine. The announcement came
shortly before the delivery of the first Mortal Kombat HI
arcade machines and an almost perfect arcade conversion
was in the offing. Atari was planning a CD-only conver-

240 Atari Press Release, 13.03.1995, Atari Corporation announces
results for the Year and fourth Quarter 1994
241 Computer and Video Games 5/1995, p. 6

226

sion instead of a cartridge and had allocated a total budget
of $1.35 million for it, according to internal documents

— the most expensive game for the Jaguar to date, with a
planned release in the first half of 1996.74 Sony did secure
the exclusive rights for a 32-bit CD conversion in the first
quarter of 1996”43, but the Jaguar version could have been
released independently before then. After all, Atari had
been insisting that the Jaguar was a 64-bit console since
its release. Internally, the Tramiels put their employees

in the right frame of mind by setting up the new arcade
machine. Joe Cain recalls his time at Atari back then:

“I was playing the hell out of the machine we had in the
office while I was there, which was funny because I was

— and still am — such a huge Street Fighter fan.” Finally,
Atari fans were about to get a well-known arcade game,
probably even an arcade-perfect one, for the Jaguar. A
game that might have even turned some heads of potential
customers who did not regard the Jaguar very high until
that point. The only thing Atari had to do now was to see
this project through. But as had been the case with many
announcements Atari had made in the past, Mortal Kom-
bat ITT never saw the light of day on the Jaguar.

242 Atari Corporation overview of software titles in development,
dated 26.08.1995
243 GamePro 11/1995, p. 191, “At the Deadline”

207

ELECT RONIC
ENTERTAINMENT
EXPO

They seemed to all have that
same happy smile... not like
those they wear at shows they
have to be at... more like a show

they were happy to be at.

Don Thomas

By the end of March 1995, some 16 months after the
console‘s launch, 21 titles were available for the Atari
Jaguar. And around that time, it became quiet around
Atari again. The online magazine Silicon Times Report
speculated about this in February: “Atari has been quiet
for a reason — that being that the next batch of games
rumored to be coming next are from the 3rd party devel-
opers. Atari leaves it up to those developers to make the
announcements as they‘re ready to do so.”*44 However,
the emerging titles, with the exception of Rayman and
maybe Troy Aikman Football, were not able to generate
greater interest among gamers. The most sought-after
Jaguar game by far still was Alien vs Predator. Titles like
Club Drive or Checkered Flag had caused frowns among
gamers and video game journalists alike due to bugs and
difficult controls. Had Atari released these titles under
pressure to expand the software lineup for the Jaguar as
quickly as possible? In an internal memo, Leonard Tra-
miel explained: “The reasons that we have let out software
with either obvious bugs or stupid mistakes are: We need
software and this is better than being late enough to fix
it; This is not a problem. (In my judgement it is not worth
fixing); This is not a problem. (It is too painful to fix); No
one noticed the bug; The bug was noticed but not consid-
ered important. The recent examples of bugs and stupid
mistakes are many, they include: Lack of driving control
in Checkered Flag; Network Failure in Doom; Poor fight-
ing control in Kasumi Ninja; Not enough difference in the
difficulties in Iron Soldier; Bad level arrangement in Iron
Soldier; [...] The difficulty progression in Bubsy is wrong.
These range from minor annoyances to major problems.
They all should have been caught by test. In at least one

244 Silicon Times Report, 03.02.1995
229

case (Doom) the problems were known to the test depart-
ment and the game went out anyway! This may have been
a conscious decision like the release of Club Drive but I
don't believe they all were.”*45 The reason for this memo
was a release from the testing department for his game
Hover Strike, in which he found a serious bug by accident.
The problem, Leonard Tramiel found, was of a fundamen-
tal nature: “It is a matter of the entire test department
never checking to see if a previously reported bug had re-
surfaced. The test department has gone thru many chang-
es of personnel lately. It now consists entirely of people
with very little experience in testing and a test leader with
virtually no experience in leading. It seems that the test
department no longer understands how to test. I fear that
the test department no longer knows what test is. Testing
is not just playing the game, or even beating the game.
Testing is breaking the game. Finding the weaknesses and
pounding on them without mercy. Testing is doing all the
sick things that people might try.”*4° Problems that were
symptomatic for a company that was still restructuring at
that time, providing small software houses with equally
small budgets, relying on cheap programmers with little or
no experience with RISC processors and letting them work
on largely unspectacular titles, struggling with a sluggish
production run and equally sluggish distribution, and not
daring to take too big a leap in marketing compared to the
competition. At a time when the competition continued to
roar with advertising and TV commercials, Atari‘s Jaguar
purred meekly. Ralph F. Mariano almost wrote a swan
song for the company in the editorial of Silicon Times Re-
port magazine in February 1995: “Truly ahead of its time,
245 Interoffice Memo by Leonard Tramiel to Sam Tramiel, Jon

Corell and John Skruch, 24.02.1995
246 ibidem

230

the Jaguar is now waiting, and waiting and waiting for
some real powerhouse games and a number of third party
devices that seem to be in an endless loop of morose delay.
In fact, while the Atari Jaguar literally lead the way in the
unique technology department, it lost all the lead time

to the incessant delays and broken release dates. Atari‘s
Jaguar had a wonderful window of opportunity for what
seemed like forever. Yet Atari blew the big jump away and
as a result, the Jaguar suffered a lack of sizable market
penetration, enthusiastic development of superior game
carts and true national advertising and distribution. [...]
While Atari may have ‘opened the gates’ of the sixty four
bit gaming consoles, they are, unless they go into high
gear, about to have their doors blown off by the competi-
tion.”*4”7 Undoubtedly, the situation was difficult for Atari.
The repeatedly postponed CD add-on wouldn't be ready
until the second half of 1995, and Atari desperately needed
something that could get both press and gamers excited
about the Jaguar in order to stay in the conversation
without having to dig deep into their pockets for it. They
needed something that would generate much attention.
Something that would make it clear once and for all that
the Jaguar was not just one console among many, but real
future technology. And so they turned to Virtual Reality.

Virtual Reality

On November 14, 1994, Nintendo unveiled its RISC-based
32-bit Virtual Boy in a press release. It would be available
in Japan and the U.S. starting in April 1995. The company
expected to sell about three million units and four times as
many game titles by March 1996. The Virtual Boy enabled
a 3D gaming experience via two monochrome LC screens,

247 Silicon Times Report, 10.02.1995
231

which the press was able to see at the Winter Consumer
Show in Las Vegas in early January 1995. Atari had al-
ready put out its feelers in the direction of Virtual Reality
as well in 1994 and had announced at the Winter CES that
it would launch a VR headset for the Jaguar by Christmas
in cooperation with Virtuality Group. Sam Tramiel ex-
plained: “We've made a significant investment in low-cost
immersive Virtual Reality and are committed to bringing
this technology to Jaguar customers by the end of the
year.”4° The price of the new peripherals was supposed

to be below $300 — a sensational price for the time. But
even if the concepts of Atari and Nintendo were difficult to
compare, there one was one major difference between the
two: While Atari had announced great things many times
in the past and then didn‘t deliver or delivered much later,
Nintnedo‘s Virtual Boys were ready at the fair and could
be tried out. Atari also seemingly faced strong competi-
tion from another company with deep pockets when it
came to VR: Toy giant Hasbro had also been working on

a VR console since 1992 together with the David Sarnoff
Research Centre (DSRC), Quantum Works Corporation
(QWC) and Abrams Gentile Entertainment (AGE). The
company had invested at least 45 million dollars in the
project and planned to invest at least 22 million in a U.S.-
wide TV advertising campaign. For Atari, developing the
VR system meant an additional financial burden at a time
when resources for development activities as well as mar-
keting for the Jaguar were sorely needed. However, given
Nintendo‘s investment in the Virtual Boy, they thought
they were betting on the right horse with an enormously
powerful VR experience. Meanwhile, the gaming world
was looking forward to a new event that would replace the

248 Silicon Times Report, 31.03.1995
232

Summer CES: The first Electronic Entertainment Expo, or
E3 for short, opened its doors at the Los Angeles Conven-
tion Center from May 11 to 13, 1995. And Atari was ready
to show off once again. However, the competition had also
planned to do the same.

Electronic Entertainment Expo

If the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was the suite-
and-tie-trade fair for the future in computing and technol-
ogy, then the E3 was its freaky little brother. Until now,
CES had been held twice a year, once in Los Angeles in the
summer and in Chicago in the winter. This year, however,
E3 took the place of the summer show for the first time,
targeting the soaring video game market. From May 11-13,
1995, the Los Angeles Convention Center became a focal
point for the gaming world — and this premiere was to go
down in video game history as a legendary clash. Bill-
boards and posters all over Los Angeles pointed out who
claimed the future of video games for themselves: Sega
invested heavily in posters and large banners that were
visible from the highway. They showed a bald woman
wearing rings around her head. Next to her was the catchy
slogan: “Head for Saturn.” Sony had also secured promi-
nent locations for its advertising banners, which were
adorned with another head: Polygon Man. In a speech
bubble, the spiky-haired polygon computer face shouted
something in Japanese. Beneath it were the Sony and
PlayStation logos. Anyone heading to E3 couldn't miss
these two seemingly omnipresent advertising messages.
Meanwhile, there was no trace of Atari at first glance even
a few days before E3 in Los Angeles. But several teams
around Donald Thomas used the time before the show

to visit stores like Babbages, Fedco, Good Guys or Toys

233

“R* Us in L.A. rallying for the console. Sometimes they
handed out goodies like stickers, shirts or baseball caps,
other times celebrity visitors like Jeff Minter joined them
so sign stuff and meet gamers. Either way, on-site teams
offered opportunities to try out the Jaguar with various
games to boost in-store sales. What visitors could expect
at the video game show, however, was not revealed by the
Atari crew. In any case, the enthusiasm and excitement of
gamers in the run-up of the show were great. And when
E3 opened its doors on May 11, visitor expectations were
met, as Joe Cataudella recalls in the 1995 CAIN newslet-
ter: “Two words can best describe the first day: Exhaust-
ing and Outstanding. Compared to the Winter Consumer
Electronics Show in Vegas, E3 is a gamer‘s paradise — yet
there‘s so much to see in this dense activity of sight and
sound — there‘s no way you can cover even half of it in one
day.”*49 Across from the main entrance, a giant inflated
Rayman greeted visitors, which Ubi Soft had set up on

a rooftop for the promotion of their colorful platform
game. It would have been a wonderful lead-in to the Atari
booth if the title hadn‘t been announced for Sega Saturn
and Sony PlayStation as well. And in the main hall, it was
quickly apparent which booths to visit: Sega‘s booth was
huge, and a two-meter neon sign with the company logo
hanging from the ceiling and numerous large Saturn logos
on the outside of the stand made it clear what to expect
here. “Sega Saturn — It’s out there” was the catchy slogan
that made it clear that Sega‘s next-gen console, priced at
$399, was already on store shelves. A coup that surprised
press and gamers alike and gave the 32-bit console a head
start of several months over the PlayStation. Sega proudly
presented Virtua Fighter, Panzer Dragoon, and the 3D

249 CAIN Newsletter: April/May 1995 #0204
234

platformer Bug for the Saturn at their booth, while 32X
and Genesis were also treated to some exciting games:
Comix Zone and Vector Man impressively showed that
Sega‘s 16-bit console could still offer appealing titles that
didn‘t have to hide behind the next-gen competition. With
arcade hits like Daytona USA and Virtua Cop, the Nin-
tendo challenger also reminded attendees where the roots
of its success lay.

Nintendo once again drew attention to itself with a huge,
radar-dome-like construction topped with the glowing
letters “World”. At floor level, the Nintendo logo, com-
posed of red letters up to four meters high, towered over
the visitors. The booth was almost large enough to justify
its own small trade show. And there was plenty to discover
for SNES owners: Killer Instinct was clearly riding the
wave of Mortal Kombat‘s success, and was promoted with
copious displays, merchandise, and regularly scheduled
dance choreographies. Donkey Kong Country 2 provided
amazing graphic splendor with the tried-and-true formula
for success of the first installment, and was considered a
surefire sales hit for the already aging Super NES. How-
ever, Nintendos focus was clearly on the Virtual Boy, an-
nounced for August 1995 at a price of $180, which visitors
were able to test play extensively at the booth. Behind the
scenes, selected attendees were also able to take a look at
Nintendo‘s 64-bit “Ultra 64“ console.

Sony had provided a memorable moment in video game
history at its E3 press conference. Olaf Olaffson, president
of Sony Computer Entertainment, had asked his Ameri-
can colleague Steve Race to come on stage to reveal more
about the strategy for the U.S. market as well as the price

235

for the PlayStation. Race then stepped up to the micro-
phone with a stack of papers, which he glanced at only
briefly. He then looked into the audience and waited for
another very brief moment before he declared, “Two-nine-
ty-nine.“ He then left the podium again to the thunderous
cheers of the journalists. Sony had undercut Sega’s price
by $100, and the company was able to show some other
good reasons to go for the PlayStation instead of Saturn
at its huge booth at the show: Namco‘s Tekken and Ridge
Racer impressed with fast, textured polygon graphics,
snappy soundtracks and fast-paced gameplay. 3D shoot-
ers like Razor Wing, Warhawk and Kileak, which at first
glance reminded of AvP, underlined the console‘s capa-
bilities.

Atari knew very well that they had to remind everyone
with a brilliant performance at this show that the Jaguar

— from Sunnyvale‘s point of view — was still the ideal entry
into the next-gen world. But they did not participate in

the press conference like the other console manufacturers.
Moreover, located right next to Sega and Namco, Atari‘s
booth was the smallest among the console vendors. Paint-
ed in black, yellow and red, the walls of its booth were
remotely reminiscent of stylized polygons. That everything
shown here was focussed on the Jaguar could clearly be
seen by how much larger the console lettering was com-
pared to the striking Atari logo. In order to prominently
place its biggest highlight of the trade show, Atari had set
up platforms about one meter high on each side of the
booth, where visitors could try out VR headsets. A small
monitor allowed outsiders to see what the gamers were
seeing and doing. Joe Cataudella describes the scene as an
observer in the CAIN newsletter as follows: “From what

236

I can tell from the external displays — the game people
were ‘immersed’ in looked mighty impressive. It was some
kind of 3D space exploration game — looking a bit like
AvP, with lots of detailed polygons. The title is called Zone
Hunter, and according to one of the heads of this project,
this might very well be the pack in. People who tried on
the goggles stepped off the specially made platforms with
smiles on their faces.”25° However, these were the Virtuali-
ty systems, not prototypes of the actual Jaguar VR helmet.
Virtuality had been distributing the Zone Hunter game

in arcades since 1994, while the actual Jaguar VR system
was on display in a glass display cabinet at the booth. Only
selected attendees were given access to a live demo behind
closed doors. In their video, the Atari Explorer Online
team interviewed Virtuality founder Jonathan Waldern,
who described the technical details of the prototype: “We
have a headset design with three special parts on the sys-
tem: the optical system, the tracking system and also the
acoustic system. In terms of the tracking system, we have
probably the world’s highest performing tracking system,
even though it’s a consumer unit. This actually performs
to a higher specification than even the industrial systems
that we use in our high-performance arcade systems. And
in that context, we’re able to not only track the headset in
realtime, in fact it’s about 200 Hz, but we’re also able to
track joysticks as well. [...] The second key thing is in the
optics. We have a very special optics design that utilizes
the full power of the LCD display technology in here. And
in that context, the sysetem provides a very wide field,
about 52 degrees, high-quality color image in the unit, so
obviously it means you don’t have to have a TV set any-
more. [...] In comparison to the field of view on the arcade

250 CAIN Newsletter: April/May 1995 #0204
237

systems, we’re running at about 70 degrees in the arcade
system, this is 52 degrees — it’s a little bit less, but none-
theless from a high-quality LCD system at this price point
it’s revolutionary. The third main feature is the acoustic
system an we’re using some special speaker technology
that actually comes very close to one of the bones on the
head and that allows for us to get quite good acoustic
response in the unit.”*5! The headset included a sensor
unit with its own processor that detected every movement,
processed the data and passed on corresponding informa-
tion to the Jaguar console via a DSP connection. Jonathan
Waldern demonstrated the function using a demo version
of Missile Command 3D, which had been in development
for two months at the time and was still named Missile
Command 2000 according to the title screen. He showed
that the headset reacted well to fast movements and
adjusted the field of view in the display accordingly. “You
can see that you can track very effectively and in realtime,
which is the first time this has ever been done at these
sort of pricepoints. You see that you have a full-blown VR
system here for the consumer. [...] The mathematics in
this has taken nearly a year to develop. [...] The Jaguar

as a 64-bit system is the only product out there with the
necessary price point where the headset can be added and
the total is not out of the range of the consumer”, raved
Waldern.?** He mentioned an expected price of $200-
$300 for the VR set, while Atari had advertised less than
$300 in their communications. Robert A. Jung described
in Silicon Times Report that the VR hardware was already
98 percent finished at that time.*3 It also seemed particu-
larly impressive that the tracking was almost as stable as

251 Atari Explorer Online, E3 video 1995
252 ibidem
253 Silicon Times Report, 19.05.1995

238

using a mouse.” Behind the scenes, however, the road to
this point had been a rocky one. Above all, concerns about
Atari‘s liability in case of accidents with the VR headset
had made the Tramiels uncomfortable. Brian Osserman
talked about this with Bill Rehbock at E3: “Roughly a year
ago, before Atari had finalized plans for the VR headset,
they had some concerns about liability; if a customer fell
and hurt themselves while walking around, they could po-
tentially sue for large amounts of money. Clearly, restrict-
ing use of the headset to sitting will greatly diminish the
risk, and the press release mentioned an automatic lock-
out device that ensured the user stayed seated by turning
off the visuals when the user stands up. In talking with
Atari‘s Bill Rehbock, it was explained to IG Online that,
even more crucially, Virtuality has conducted a tremen-
dous amount of testing and research on safety, and unlike
other VR companies, was willing to show Atari the full
results of the study. The studies made Atari much more
comfortable with the idea of releasing a HMD, and subse-
quently made their decision of who to contract out the VR
development to much easier.”255 However, when asked,
Rehbock doubted that the announced release at Christmas
1995 was realistic: “Atari would be lucky to have it out by
Christmas with both Zone Hunter and Missile Command
ready, but he [Bill Rehbock] also stressed that he feels
that if anyone can do it, Virtuality can. He emphasized
that they have only been working on the prototypes and
Missile Command demo for a couple months, and have
done a tremendous amount in that time. Virtuality is, in
fact, developing both Missile Command and Zone Hunter

254 Silicon Times Report, impressions by Brian Osserman,
19.05.1995
255 ibidem

themselves.”25°

In terms of console games, Atari presented a revised
version of Fight for Life, which offered textured graphics
compared to Virtua Fighter, but seemed rather slug-

gish — especially compared to Tekken on the PlaySta-
tion. The version of Thea Realm Fighters, which was still
in development at the time, looked unconvincing even
compared to the SNES game Killer Instinct, as the miss-
ing animation phases of the sprites made it look choppy
and did not go well with the look of the graphics digitized
via motion-capturing. The not dissimilar but far more
polished Ultra Vortex, on the other hand, was appealing,
but as an exclusive title it had to rely on a large marketing
budget to get noticed by gamers at all. Rayman clearly
stood out from the crowd of rather average games at the
Atari booth, but was also still a few months away from
release and was also shown at the booths of Sony and
Sega. With Skyhammer, AvP studio Rebellion was able to
show off an early version of an impressive 3D shooter in
which players could freely move around a fully-textured
Bladerunner-like cyberpunk metropolis full of skyscraper
complexes and neon signs to complete various missions.
Hover Hunter also looked like a game that could compete
with PlayStation titles shown at the show, such as Razor
Wing, but was still in the early stages of development.
Overall, what Atari showed at E3 seemed quite impres-
sive: “Atari was showing their newest venture, the Jaguar
Virtual Reality gear they are working on with Virtuality.
A [very] early version of Missile Command VR was run-
ning, and Virtuality themselves brought over working
PC-based copies of one of their current VR games, Zone

256 ibidem
240

Hunter — slated to appear on Jaguar as well. All of this
was met with near universal approval and interest. Atari
wants to have VR product (goggles, tracking joystick, 1-2
games) out in time for the Holiday shopping season,”?5”
stated Travis Guy in his editorial of Atari Explorer Online,
while Len Stys judged more cautiously in CAIN newslet-
ter: “Yes, it was great, but everyone should remember that
the E3 show is not reality. The E3 show is fantasy land. It
is a place where company officials, company employees,
press, and dealers go for a few days to get a feeling of what
things might be like in the future. It is not a glimpse of the
future. It is what can happen if everything works out just
right. And everything won't work out just right if company
officials and employees get caught up in this excitement.
[...] Atari has always shown great products at consumer
electronic shows. [...] But Atari has never done a very good
job at marketing and selling these products in the United
States.”*55 Those who looked at the show objectively

could not find much in Atari‘s presence that would have
convinced gamers, especially in comparison to the offer-
ings of other consoles on the market: “Many of the games
shown simply lacked the amazing fluidity of their Saturn
and PlayStation counterparts,” judged William Long-
worth in CAIN newsletter and pointed out that besides
the VR headset, only the multiplayer title Battlesphere
had potential: “Just buy the freakin‘ thing when it comes
out (early Fall is the current guess). The potential in this
one is clear as crystal to anyone who tried it.”*5? Another
negative aspect was that the CD add-on, which had been
announced several times and was now postponed again,
did not have a single finished game among the 13 titles

257 Atari Explorer Online, 20.05.1995
258 CAIN Newsletter: April/May 1995 #0204
259 ibidem

241

shown at the show: “There is obviously still some manage-
rial problems at Atari. Atari spent thousands of dollars on
advertising the Jaguar CD-ROM in magazines for the last
several months and now the company decides that there is
not enough games for it to be released before for August.
The entire CD-ROM situation is a mess,”*°° concluded Len
Stys. The harsh criticism didn‘t come out of the blue. After
all, Atari had already announced the hardware expansion
when it first revealed the Jaguar back in 1993, but had
repeatedly postponed it: The company initially planned

a release for the first quarter of 1994, then corrected this
date already a month later to the middle of the same year.
Then, in early 1994, it said it could take until September.
Two months later, the time window for the release of the
Jaguar CD had already shifted to a more vague sound-

ing second half of 1994. At the beginning of 1995 Atari
announced at the Winter CES that the device would be
released soon — which was then relativized again at E3.7%
In April 1995 the first copies of the add-on were already
stored in Atari‘s warehouse. What was still missing was

a suitable add-on game, without which the Tramiels did
not want to deliver anything.” In view of Sega 32X and
Saturn as well as Sony PlayStation, however, there was no
reason for game fans to wait for Atari‘s delayed CD player,
especially since the expected titles were nothing to write
home about. Atari‘s only hope was to get as big a price
advantage as possible over the competition, combined
with the hope that consumers wouldn‘t factor in the cost
of add-ons in the process. According to Brian Osserman
of Silicon Times Report, Bill Rehbock explained: “Admit-

260 CAIN Newsletter: April/May 1995 #0204

261 Atari Explorer Online, 07.11.1993, 07.12.1993, 06.02.1994,
Atari Annual Report 1993, Billboard Newspaper 1/1995, p. 70

262 Silicon Times Report, 14.04.1995

242

ting [PlayStation and Saturn] were more powerful, he said
that Atari will attempt to maximize the price difference

by keeping the core Jaguar system as well-supported and
competitive as possible. Major games will continue to be
released for the system in the hopes that consumers will
compare the core Jaguar and its price the other systems
on the market, rather than comparing the Jaguar + CD
and their price to the same systems. To strengthen this ap-
proach, Atari is hoping to eventually be able to lower the
price of the core Jaguar system to $99, and plans for an
integrated CD and Jaguar combined unit have now been
dropped.”?°3 The Jaguar Duo, which was last mentioned

at the Winter CES, was therefore already history and Atari
had realized that the price for the Jaguar had to fall below
$100 in order to remain attractive for gamers in compari-
son with the SNES and Genesis and at the same time be
cheap enough to make add-ons interesting for buyers. But
the problem for the Jaguar was not so much the already
comparatively affordable price, but rather a continued
lack of games, especially titles with broad appeal, their
still poor nationwide distribution and too little advertis-
ing. And so, with the upcoming shareholders‘ meeting at
Atari at the beginning of June in mind, Len Stys stated:
“Perhaps the biggest concern should be that Atari is not
losing enough money. In order to make money, a company
needs to spend money. Newspaper ads, Jaguar kiosks, etc.
costs money and is needed for the Jaguar to be successful
in the future. [...] Atari still has a lot of work to do. And
perhaps a lot of realizing to do. The Jaguar distribution is
still awful. In the case of the Jaguar, the grass is greener in
Atari‘s back yard. If you live in California, don‘t think for a
minute that Jaguar distribution is that great in other parts

263 Silicon Times Report, 26.05.1995
243

of the United States.”2%4

While the E3 team gave everything for three days straight
at the show to convince the public of the capabilities and
the bright future of the Jaguar, Donald Thomas and Tal
Funke-Bilu also drove to other stores in the evenings
after each day of the show, as they had done in the weeks
before, to keep interest in the Jaguar in L.A. as high as
possible with little financial resources but a high level of
personal commitment. In order to be able to offer some-
thing to the stores, they took some demo cartridges from
the devices at the show to be able to show them there.
Overall, the mood at the Atari booth was excellent. Don
Thomas explained: “On the rare occasion when I did see
the likes of Jon Correll, Ron Beltramo, Sam Tramiel,
Augie Liguori, Laury Scott, Garry Tramiel, Bill Rehbock
or Dean Fox duck in and out they seemed to all have that
same happy smile... not like those they wear at shows
they have to be at... more like a show they were happy to
be at.”?°5 But when the hustle and bustle of the show had
cleared and the coverage of the first E3 showed up, the
winners were clear: Sega had released the Saturn. Sony
had shown what the PlayStation could do and further fu-
eled anticipation for their new console with a retail price
that was $100 below the Saturn. Nevertheless, Darryl Still
explained in an interview with EDGE magazine in 1995:
“The PlayStation is very strong, certainly in comparision
with the Saturn, but Sony has absolutely no experience
in this market and the games market really is like no
other. You can‘t just come in and buy market share. You
have to build it.“*°° Although he was basically right about
264 CAIN Newsletter: April/May 1995 #0204

265 Atari Explorer Online, 20.05.1995
266 EDGE 02/1995

244

that, Sony was to prove how they could very well buy the
support of numerous major studios and thus secure an
excellent market entry. And Atari? They had once again
promised that the CD add-on for the Jaguar would soon
be on the market and also held out the prospect of a VR
headset, which would have been unique in the consumer
market, but whose appearance was anything but set in
stone in view of the previous postponements and unful-
filled promises. At least Atari had realized by this point
that it needed external help. But would that be enough to
turn the tides during the second half of 1995?

Above: View of the Atari booth at the first E3 in 1995.
Below: A visitor tries out the Virtuality VR, branded with the Jaguar
logo. The actual Jaguar VR prototype was presented behind closed doors.

246

247

THE ttOFF FACTOR

What I found was that Atari

is in a very good position, es-
pecially after having a couple
years on the market with a next
generation platform system.

Ted Hoff

248

New faces and new ideas

Two new faces had joined Atari less than two weeks before
the show: Jon Correll and Dean Fox. Jon Correll had pre-
viously been responsible for developer contracts as Man-
ager of Development Administration at Sega of America,
and among other things, he had selected the first games
for the Sega CD. One of the most prominent of these was
the FMV game Night Trap. Dean Fox came from Sega as
well, where he had been responsible for the strategic mar-
keting for the launch of the Sega CD. Atari, it seemed, was
willing to fill key positions with experts and was generally
very interested in courting Sega employees, which also
included Francois Bertrand, who had worked on Virtua
Fighter. One exception was the position of President of
North American Operations, for which the Tramiels hired
Theodore M. Hoff on June 26, 1995. He had previously
been Senior Vice President and General Manager at Fox
Interactive and before that held the same position at Time
Warner Interactive. Atari expected the new hires to pro-
vide the necessary expertise for a successful launch of the
CD add-on. Moreover, Atari urgently needed to turn the
ship around in these stormy waters.

One of the new guys at Atari was Joe Cain, who had also
previously worked at Sega. He recalls: “My decision to
leave Sega for Atari was opportunity-based. I had been at
Sega for close to three years and wanted to advance my
career into production and/or game design, and I was
kind of locked into my tester role [at Sega], so I felt I had
to leave and Atari hired me as an Assistant Producer so
that was that. Definitely a lot more to the story there, but
I absolutely had to swallow hard and take a leap of faith,
because Atari‘s brand was fairly tarnished at the time so

249

that move was anything but a sure thing.” Atari was open
to creative projects, and Joe Cain recalls two particu-
larly interesting ones: “There was one particular game in
development that I‘ve never seen recalled or mentioned
anywhere before, which was a Demolition Derby game
that I believe was patterned after a PlayStation game that
had just come out around that time. The team was in
Malaysia and I‘m fairly certain it was called Gamebrains
at the time, and I recall having some very difficult con-
versations with the project head there who was desper-
ate for us to approve a milestone payment advance and
going into great detail about how hard they were working
to squeeze every ounce of performance out of the Jaguar
(it was a 3D game), and I did try my best but I think that
never happened and the game obviously ceased to exist. I
remember the names of the two Americans who ran that
company and I haven‘t spoken to either of them since
then, but I believe Gamebrains went on to be a pretty
successful handheld game company and I have to wonder
if Brett Bibby or Randy Gocke have a build of that game
sitting on an old hard drive somewhere — if so, it would be
really interesting for that to see the light of day so many
years later.” The second panned game was a personal
favorite of the young producer: “I had been contacted by
Franz Lanzinger — somehow the call got sent to me —, who
was the main programmer and designer of the Crystal
Castles arcade game in 1983. I don‘t actually recall that
Franz wanted to do a game on the Jaguar at the time — if
anything, I think it would either have been for PC or some
other console, though certainly, a Jaguar port might have
been possible. I wasn‘t really able to help him get the IP,
Atari was really tight-fisted with that stuff, so I had to give
him some bad news. But in terms of an internal project,

250

we had already been in talks with a small studio called
WaveQuest, Inc. to do a Jaguar version of Crystal Castles.
They had done a couple of early ‘health learning’ games on
the SNES, one about asthma and the other about diabetes,
and seemed like a capable studio but I really wanted to try
to do something different with the game than just re-hash
the original gameplay. I had a whole design for a special
stage, kind of similar to the Sonic ‘rings’ bonus levels. It‘s
really a shame it never happened, because I know I would
have pushed really hard to make it a worthy successor to
the arcade game — we even bought one and had it in the
office for a short period of time! I wish I‘d been able to
take that machine home with me, but I imagine someone
else must have gotten it because I completely lost touch
with everyone who had been there after I got let go.” But
for all the creativity and a positive team spirit, it seemed
increasingly clear that Atari didn‘t have the resources

to keep up with the big players. Joe Cain remembers: “I
didn‘t feel great about Atari‘s reputation at the time, and
seeing some of the ways the company was being steered
that really reinforced that notion to me, especially as a
gamer with a passion not only for games in general, but
Atari, in particular. It just seemed to me like they knew
they couldn‘t spend the amount of money it was going

to take to do things ‘right’, and all those budget-saving
moves just ended up with Atari being unable to really
push out the kind of high-quality content they had needed
to really change the perception of their brand and elevate
that console to ‘must-have’ status. I was also definitely
disappointed that they had allowed their building to es-
sentially crumble over the years and didn‘t seem to care
that dingy carpets and water-stained, broken, or some-
times just entirely absent ceiling panels made the place

251

feel like they didn‘t care enough to create a welcoming or
compelling workspace, which I think had been a hallmark
of Atari‘s offices when they first started out.”

Know Hoff

Nevertheless, the new ideas and approaches brought in by
new employees were unquestionably good for Atari. One
of them was Ted Hoff, who was eager to see the Jaguar
finally succeed. For this he had extensive plans: First,
Atari would only refer to their console as the “Jaguar 64”
to remind people that it was a 64-bit console. Second,
Atari urgently needed more games, especially compared
to the Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation, so that the
console would even be perceived as potentially interesting
by customers. Third, distribution through retailers needed
to be pushed. Fourth, Atari needed a new, strong advertis-
ing campaign that appealed to a young target audience
and, in addition to the Jaguar, also brought the CD add-on
onto the screen of potential buyers. Fifth, Hoff demanded
that development on Fight For Life, which after all had to
compete with Tekken and Virtua Fighter, be optimized
with the competition in mind. The fact that Atari distrib-
uted the basketball game White Men Can't Jump along
with the four-player adapter called Teamtap was also his
idea. Most importantly, Hoff sought to be close to the
online community around the Jaguar, regularly partici-
pating in discussion groups and responding to questions
from the user base — a first for a console manufacturer

in the still-young Internet. Hoff explained: “I know the
online community has hung in there with us! Thank you.
You are our loyal user base and we are determined not

to disappoint you. [...] We will continue to monitor your
comments and feedback regarding our products ... both

252

positive and negative. I‘m hoping that we can continue to
be open and constructive. We have a big job ahead of us;
your input continues to be important and your loyalty and
interest are greatly appreciated.”*” Above all, Hoff seemed
convinced that he could market the Jaguar appealingly
against Sony and Sega: “What I found was that Atari is in
a very good position, especially after having a couple years
on the market with a next generation platform system.

I welcome Sony‘s and Sega‘s efforts in the marketplace,
primarily because of the infusion of enormous marketing
dollars creating an awareness of new generation plat-
forms. Atari‘s advantage will be that we will have more
titles on the market than Sony or Sega, and the Jaguar is
roughly half the price to get into. At about $150, we have
a very compelling price point.”?°° Moreover, he tried to
convince the Tramiels to form a new division: Atari Inter-
active. Under this label, well-known titles could be pub-
lished for PCs, thus increasing the awareness of the brand
and generating additional sales. Hoff had the necessary
experience from his time at Fox and Time Warner and
urged that this step be taken as soon as possible. Priority,
however, was given to putting more Jaguar games out, as
well as increasing marketing activity around the console.

As of July, the software wave for the Jaguar did indeed
seem to be picking up steam: In addition to the basketball
title White Men Can‘t Jump, Super Burnout, a fast-paced
superscaler racing game reminiscent of Sega‘s Super
Hang On with an excellent soundtrack, the action adven-
ture Flashback, and Pinball Fantasies were released. In
August, Atari shipped the exclusive puzzle game FlipOut!,
conceived by medical student Conrad Barski while work-

267 Silicon Times Report, 28.07.1995
268 Atari Explorer Online, 21.08.1995

253

ing part-time as a programmer at Gorilla Systems. The
same month saw the release of Ultra Vortek, a long-
awaited 2D fighting game among Jaguar fans. Finally, in
September, Rayman was released, although not exclu-
sively for the Jaguar as had been originally announced.
Frank Slater from Ubi Soft had the following to say about
the differences between the PlayStation and Jaguar ver-
sions of the colorful jump ‘n run: “I just wanted to say that
our team of testers, who often worked testing all three
versions of Rayman, almost always, without exception,
preferred the Jaguar version for it's ‘controlability’. [...]
Both the Play Station and the Jag version will be released
on Sept[ember] 16th in the U.S. The Saturn version will
follow a few weeks later.”*°? Philippe Vindolet explained
the delay of the Jaguar version: “To be honest, we did
think the Jaguar would be released first. Believe me, many
heads have been banged against many walls over the
delays mostly due to the fact that we really really really
wanted to make this game the very best game that exists
on the Jaguar, and so we went back to the drawing board a
few times. The early days of Rayman were mainly design
— character design, and background the programming for
all three consoles all began seriously late last summer.”?”°
Finally, Activision‘s Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure fol-
lowed in October with another 2D jump ‘n run. This
meant that games were finally appearing regularly for the
Jaguar, but there was still a lack of 3D titles that would
have underscored the console‘s next-gen capabilities com-
pared to Saturn and PlayStation.

Hoff had also hired a new advertising agency, Ground
Zero, whose spot ran across TV screens from September to

269 Silicon Times Report, 08.09.1995
270 ibidem

254

December. It featured a bald man in his mid-20s sitting in
a lab with a series of light bulbs on his head. An off-cam-
era female voice explained, “This part of the brain controls
the subject‘s emotions.” After a brief sound that made

an electrical impulse audible, the protagonist shouted,
“Hey! Get off my lawn!” Subsequently, the off-screen voice
declared, “This part controls hunger,” whereupon the
subject asked, “Hey, you gonna eat that?” Then the voice
announced, “This controls sexual impulse.” The response
was shown only by a downward glance, followed by a brief
chuckle. Then finally the voice declared, “This controls
rational thought.” And suddenly the candidate raisoned,
“Why would I buy a 32-bit system for 300 dollars when

I can get a 64-bit Jaguar system for a hundret and for-
tynine?” This was followed by a snappy music and short
clips from the games Alien us Predator, Super Burnout,
Tempest 2000, Val d‘Tserie Skiing and Snowboarding,
Tron Soldier, Rayman, Defender 2000, Pitfall and Doom
in just three seconds. The off-screen voice recaps, “Atari
Jaguar. 64-bit. 149 Bucks.” According to a press release,
Atari intended it to appeal to a male demographic between
the ages of 12-34. Ted Hoff was convinced: “Our alliance
with Ground Zero has resulted in a fantastic attention-
grabbing television and print campaign for the Jaguar 64.
The ads are extremely creative and continue to reinforce
our corporate message — that the Jaguar 64 is the fun,
high quality, value priced home entertainment system

of choice.”?” It was the turn towards a bolder and more
youthful appearance that resembled Sega‘s marketing.

In this context, Ground Zero produced a series of com-
mercials for Atari under the slogan “Suddenly, nothing
else seems fun anymore,” but their airing was repeatedly

271 Atari Press Release “Atari Corporation and Ground Zero Take
Off With Sizzling Ad Campaign”, 05.09.1995

255

postponed because they met with internal resistance. Bill
Rehbock remembers: “I recall Greg LaBrec and I fighting
with Ted Hoff and his team that these ads were desper-
ately attempting to portray Atari as the cool bad-boys.
The consideration is that we didn’t really have much of

a bad-boy line-up, such as the shock value that Mor-

tal Kombat afforded Sega around that time.” The spots
showed fast-paced game clips of Jaguar titles in quick
succession, followed by a scene of those dreaming of them
— including copulating orangutans, a sad man with a sex
doll, or even Bill Clinton during his swearing-in. It was a
strange-looking advertising campaign that was aired on
an extremely limited basis. At the same time, Atari faced
a phalanx of financially strong competitors who could
invest large sums in television and print advertising.
“Atari could have done more, but the money being spent
in a three-front war against Sega, Nintendo, and Sony
was ridiculous, and 3DO was in that mix too,” explains
Bill Rehbock. In addition to the regular advertising, Atari
also had an infomercial produced by In-Finn-Ity Produc-
tions to boost sales of the Jaguar. From mid-November to
mid-December, it aired on Sunday mornings on Comedy
Central, The Nashville Network and E! Entertainment.

In the roughly half-hour video, a mysterious Jack shows
Bob, who is bored with his 16-bit games, the world of
64-bit gaming on the Atari Jaguar. Significantly, Bob
asks his counterpart: “How many games does this Atari
Jaguar system have?” Jack responds as aggressively as he
does euphorically: “My friend, Atari is the game master.
They‘ve got enough games to keep your fragile little mind
occupied until the next millennium”, and then lists five
games. More titles are presented in the further course of
the video, but hardly any of them are suitable to convince

256

gamers of the console‘s performance — especially com-
pared to PlayStation and Saturn. At the end, callers are
encouraged to order a Jaguar console plus an additional
controller and the game Cybermorph for $159. They could
also buy it with four games, including Cybermorph, Tem-
pest 2000, Checkered Flag and Kasumi Ninja for $199.
The final sentence of the infomercial proved to be espe-
cially critical: “Try the Jaguar for 30 days risk-free. If it’s
not the most fun you’ve ever had, return it for a full refund
of your purchase price.” A request that numerous cus-
tomers were happy to comply with. Don Thomas remem-
bered: “Of the few thousand people who actually placed
orders, many of them returned their purchases after the
Holidays.”?” As the infomercial aired, some wondered if
this type of advertising would do the Atari brand and the
Jaguar any good. Dana Jacobson explained: “There has
been some discussion online as to what kind of effect this
infomercial will have on sales; whether or not it’s a sign of
desperation on Atari‘s part to sell the Jaguar. Personally,

I don‘t know what kind of audience watches infomercials.
I watched about five minutes of one a couple of years ago
and turned it off. It was on in the middle of the night and
reminded me of the old ‘wonder elixir’ salesmen from the
Old West medicine shows! I really believe that Atari needs
to do some real advertising, soon, to capture some of the
holiday sales. It may already be too late to do anything.”?”3
Compared to the regular TV commercials for the Jaguar,
on the other hand, Bill Rehbock is still convinced of the ef-
fect of the infomercial: “In my opinion, the infomercial was
much more bang-for-the buck at the time and was cool and
edgy, which I think is different than sex-dolls and hump-

272 Did you hear anyone say “Goodbye”? By Don Thomas,
04.10.1996
273 Silicon Times Report, 01.12.1995

257

ing orangutans.” But one aspect is neither mentioned nor
presented in this infomercial: The Jaguar CD add-on.

Silver Lining

Atari began supplying retailers with the new CD add-on
on August 24 — the same day Microsoft released Win-
dows 95. Don Thomas stated: “This morning [23.08.],
Ted Hoff gathered us together and was grinning big time
as he verified that the final pack-ins were being deliv-
ered and the boxes would roll off the packout lines just

as predicted. Ted feels a peripheral as important as the
CD-ROM should be blessed by the retail buyers by send-
ing the first units off the line to their attention. Another
batch will be shipped ahead of his arrival to New York

to host a formal press presentation next week. [...] The
CD-ROM should be available nationwide within just a
couple of weeks!”2” In order to give the hardware a chance
for $150, Hoff knew that Atari would have to pay a lot in
advance for the bundled titles. However, they didn‘t want
to add the big guns to the bundle. Besides the weak puzzle
game VidGrid, the add-on also contained Blue Lightning,
which strongly reminded players of a weaker version of
Sega‘s Afterburner, a demo CD of the celebrated graphic
adventure Myst and a CD with the soundtrack of Tempest
2000, with which the integrated light synthesizer could
be tested. But Dana Jacobsen of Silicon Times Report
doubted that this add-on had too much of a future, due to
the delay, the slow nationwide availability, and the lack
of games on CD: “I must say that I am somewhat disap-
pointed, but not surprised, at the lackluster release of the
JaguarCD. Yes, it started shipping yesterday [24. Au-
gust]. Will we be able to buy it in the next couple of days?

274 Silicon Times Report, 25.08.1995
258

Unlikely. It will probably take a week or so before the bulk
of the units make the dealer shelves — it does take some
time for it all to happen. It‘s also unfortunate, or fortunate
depending on your viewpoint, that there won't be the 6-8
additional CD games available at the same time. Atari

was committed to the August 24th ship date; the games
were supposed to be ready, but are not, as far as we know.
Look for September for the games we were expecting
these last few days of August. [...] It's my impression that
the JaguarCD‘s release was going to be a public lose-lose
situation. They could have either held back the release

to wait for the games and incur the userbase‘s wrath‘ or
they could ship the unit with the available pack-ins and
wait for the eventual release of subsequent games. Not a
great choice, but under the circumstances, the pack-ins,
VLM, and Myst demo should keep us busy long enough

to wait for the other games — providing that those games
arrive soon!“?%5 The problems of the delayed release by
more than a year and the lack of CD flagship titles were
compounded by a strong performance of the competition:
Sony‘s PlayStation celebrated its sales launch in the U.S.
on September 9, 1995. Early adopters of the 32-bit console
had already secured around 100,000 units in advance
sales. With aggressive marketing, an enormous adver-
tising budget and the backing of a total of around 370
developers, Sony‘s triumph seemed unstoppable. Atari,
meanwhile, was fighting for its existence with the Jaguar
and couldn‘t even ship more than 20,000 CD add-ons.

275 Silicon Times Report, 25.08.1995
259

7
ae eae

—

perce me ee

AMAR

Var
~

Bee = oul Create the most powerful
we | Game system ever!
Jaguar CD is now
available in stores for
only $149.
Experience the digital
jungle unleashed with
your Jaguar CD.

Killer titles coming soon for Jaguar CD:

+ Thea Realm Fighters + Demolition Man
+ Robinson’s Requiem + Highlander

+ Hover Strike + Baldies

- Rise OF The Robots + Varuna’s Forces

- Black 1CE\White Noise - Soul Star
- Wayne Gretzky Hockey - Magic Carpet

(ik aebik iA} y

AIKMAN NFL FooTeaL.™ orn : ’
bhai »

“Its really impressive...the Jaguar | 7 SYNDICATE™
version is the best yet.” -EGM 3 as “Jaguar strategy fans should be
“It has tantalizing innovations ihe: ? at stoked. One of the best Jaguar
and a well-prepared collection of games.”—Game Players
features.” -GamePro . b a

“More than 50 missions of
mayhem and mob activity.”
GamePro

FEES ole Beste

Tempest 2000™
“One of the most intense video gaming
experiences ever.’"—Next Generation

“Further proof that the next
level of gaming has arrived.”

“This game sets a new standard for
Best games. rg ye
“10-Editor's Choice Gold Award.”-EGM

B est system. “Best sound and best shooter-
B e st g et 0 FF all platforms."-Game Informer
your butt and
get one.

ALIEN Vs. PREDATOR™

“A masterpiece and a milestone... AVP
scared the hell out of me."-VideoGames

, “AVP's graphics are stunning.” -GamePro
“Best Jaguar action adventure game.”
~Die Hard Game Fan

“Jaguar game of the year”

-Game Informer & Game Players

Doom™
“Blows Sega's 32X version away!”

“The best version of DOOM for any home
system.”-VideoGames

“Doom is a gaming milestone.”
“10-a mega hit!" -GamePro

c ¥ Zoot 2”
- * “Features superior level design... the visuals
are truly gorgeous."~Die Hard Game Fan.
“Zool has everything...
once you play, you're hooked,” -EGM
VAL D’ ISERE SKIING AND SNOWBOARDING™
“My adrenaline is pumping-I'm blown away!”
; - THEME PARK™ “The best skiing and snowboarding game
——. Z i . } ; ever created.”

“..a Sardonic strategy game

that honors the unique design “The speed at which it moves is what

of SimCity and Populus.” makes it So freakin’ fun."-VideoGames,

ans, “Graphically, the art is right on.”
It's worth the price of
admission."-GamePro spleiHatdGame'ren

WOLFENSTEIN™

“The best on any platform,
including the PC.”

“If you want riveting action,
intense graphics, lots of
blood and tons of glory,
Wolfenstein delivers.”

“It's candy for your senses.”

—GamePro

“Anyone who enjoys designing
things is gonna love this game.”
~—Game Players

“Recommended.” —VideoGames

ZRATARY Saretips and hints: 1-900-737-ATARI-95¢ pr minute, you are under 18, be sure o get a parent's permission before cain. Atouch-tone telephone is required USA ony. lari Jaguar informations avaliable in the Atari Gam
Saev'ie the stn Forum on CompuServe. Type GO JAGUAR to access this area 24 hours a day. Atari Jaguar information is available in the Atari Roundtable Forum on GEnie. Type JAGUAR to access this area 24 hours a day. “Includes Jaguar a
one controller. ATARI, the Atari logo, Jaguar, the Jaguar logo, Burn Out, Fight for life, Iron Soldier, Tempest 2000, Hover Strike are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Corporation. Copyright 1995, Atari Corporation, Sunnyvale,
94089-1302. Made in the U.S. of domestic and imported components. All rights reserved, Troy Aikman NFL Football © 1994 Williams Entertainment Inc. Tradewest™ and Troy Aikman NFL™ Football are trademarks of Williams Entertainment |

263

Can you connect the dot?

If so, you’re probably smart enough to figure out
that paying $149 for a 64-bit Jaguar makes more

sense than paying over $300 for a 32-bit system.

264

64-bit - $149

The best graphics in the known universe. Twice the bits for half the price. And
over 40 brain-scorching games to choose from. If you still don’t get why the
Jaguar’s a better deal, take two smart pills and call us in the morning.

010360

x39 26% ® x20

1-War™ Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure™ Flipout!™
The World's supercomputer is filled with mutant data e the son of Pitfall Harry, scouring the Not exactly the kind of puzzles you find in
1-Way and trash the viruses while you an jungles for your kidnapped dad unday paper. From Planet Earth to
and make it through Feature film-quality animation makes for Planet Phrohmaj, strange little aliens taunt
ut you, society is dust pendulums that slice and crocodiles that bite you as you try to solve these puzzles.

Rayman™ 0 Ultra Vortek™
It's a dream come true You're a superhero Level after level of brain-burning act With at least six special moves each, they're
battling the arch-nemesis attempting to coming at you from all sides, faste seven fighters you don’t want to meet in a dark
destroy the world. Each colorful level is faster until your thumbs are numb, your alley, But mecting them on a video s

3 is
teeming with cartoon-quality graphics eyes are aching, and your mind is molien preity cool when you kick their butts,

<
mee ATARI, the Atari

| J Co) = = logo, Jaguar
es \ and the Jaguar
Sy ti \ logo are trade-
» 8 4 y marks of Atari
Corporation,
©1995 Atari
Corporation,
Sunnyvale, CA
94089-1302
Includes
Jaguar and one
controller. All
other trade
marks and
copyrights are
properties of

their res

AAATARIS
ers. All

« ay -
cBsp “8
SOT Wnremactive muLtime #
rights reserved

ATAR ” See us on the World Wide Web: http://www.atari.com orm
on Compuserve at GO JAGUAR or call 800-848-8990.

FIGHT FOR LIFE

I really think that our textures
are better than the ones in
Tohshinden.

Francois-Yves Bertrand

266

No other Jaguar game during its development reflected
Atari‘s ambitions plans as well as the situation within the
company as clearly as Fight For Life. Atari desperately
needed a 3D title that proved the Jaguar could technically
take on the new console behemoths from Sony and Sega.
Sam Tramiel looked in particular at Sega, whose rise from
underdog to top dog in the U.S. he admired. The Japanese
console and arcade manufacturer could boast a title that
had become a huge success since its release in Japanese
arcades in late 1993: Virtua Fighter. The first beat ‘em up
with polygon graphics impressed the press and gamers
alike, and had perhaps been the most important reason
for buying the Sega Saturn at the console’s lanch in Japan
in late 1994. Behind it was Sega‘s successful studio AM2,
led by Yu Suzuki, who was responsible for the equally
celebrated Virtua Racing. Atari had already tried unsuc-
cessfully to poach talent from Capcom and Konami. At
Sega, they had also been courting those willing to change
workplaces and found a promising coder who had already
made a name for himself within the AM2 team with his
involvement in Sega‘s polygon fighting game: Francois-
Yves Bertrand. With a VHS recording of his home-built
gaming interface for arcade boards, which he had sent

by mail to Sega CEO Nakayma himself, he had found his
way into AM2 through approval from the highest ranks.
But working in Japan took its toll on the young program-
mer: “In Japan I worked on wonderful projects, with
means you can not imagine, but working with a Japanese
company, with only Japanese people, is terrible when you
are a foreigner. Over here [in the U.S.], and in Europe,
people don‘t care where you are from; the only important
thing is how well you do your job.”?” In May 1994, Ber-

276 Atari Explorer Online, 27.02.1995
267

trand left Sega shortly after he had started working on
the Saturn implementation of Virtua Fighter as well as
on the arcade successor, and moved to Atari. The expe-
rienced assembler programmer convinced the Tramiels
with his concept to implement an improved version of
Virtua Fighter on the Jaguar. The special feature of his
game compared to the competition from Sega: Play-

ers take over the moves of defeated opponents and thus
improve their chances in the next fight with every round.
However, this also meant that players started with a very
manageable set of moves — something that didn‘t ap-
peal equally to all test players at Winter CES 1995. Fight
For Life was also intended to show what the Jaguar was
made of when it came to sound design. For this purpose,
James Grunke from Atari brought Joe Vitale on board. He
had already played on tour with the Eagles and was good
friends with their girarist Joe Walsh. Grunke explained in
an interview in early December 1994: “I am working on
the theme song for the game. Joe Vitale wrote the song
for me on spec, and it rocks. It is titled ‘Fight for Life’ and
you should hear it on the Jag. The guys who work for me
(Paul Foster, Hans-Martin Krober and Nate Brenholdt)
have been developing the sound system to the point where
we are able to take a tune like this and integrate it into
the game.”*” Graphically, Fight For Life also seemed

to be on a good path. Silvio Poretta, who worked on the
fighter textures for Bertrand, recalls: “Francois-Yves and
I started working together at his tiny video game studio in
the south of France back in 1989-90. Then the company
went bankrupt and Francois-Yves went to work with Sega
in Japan and was responsible for the camera system on
Virtua Fighter. In 1994 Francois-Yves went to work with

277 Atari Explorer Online, 04.12.1994
268

Atari in Sunnyvale, California. He convinced Atari to hire
me. Francois-Yves was in charge of the design of Fight
for Life and I quickly learned to create texture maps for
characters. I liked learning how to do texture mapping,
which was completely new and exciting for a 25 year old
creative person. Also what I liked about my short time at
Atari was the feeling of being at the forefront of a cutting
edge technology without much competition around. I
remember Sam Tramiel was very pleased with my work.
Texture maps on characters was groundbreaking at the
time. Francois-Yves taught me to do all of this. We worked
very well together — I was the young and crazy talented
artist and he was the brain.” When asked about compa-
rable competing products in early 1995, Betrand counted
polygons: “A lot of work has been done on FFL [...], and

I really think that our textures are better than the ones in
Tohshinden. I am not talking about the graphic style itself,
you like or you don‘t like it, but about the model on which
you put the texture. In Tohshinden, legs of characters are
square, we use eight polygons. In Toshinden, the chest

of a character is made by two or three polygons — look at
the victory pose and you will see what I am talking about.
In FFL, Jenny‘s breasts are made with 18 polygons, all
texture mapped, and whatever angle you look at her, you
can see that this girl is really a girl, not just an image.”?”°
Fight For Life relied on up to 900 polygons per character,
which was a lot compared to Virtua Fighter. At the same
time, however, the reference points increasingly shifted
in 1995. Tekken and Toshinden set new standards for
how a modern 3D beat ‘em up should look, sound and
play. As a result, Betrand‘s comparison to Toshinden in
particular caused some doom and gloom in the online

278 Atari Explorer Online, 28.03.1995
269

community, which was less convinced by Fight For Life.
Raphael Lemoine defended FFL in a statement at Atari
Explorer Online against the criticism that the Jaguar was
not technically capable of handling such a game at all

— and at the same time highlighted the biggest weakness
in the development work in Sunnyvale: “Toshinden was
written by a team of several programmers — I don‘t know
how many, but eight or nice were working on VF2-Saturn
for almost two years. Fight for Life was written by one
programmer, who touched a Jaguar for the first time in
March-April 94, and began to work on this project aproxi-
mately in May. You want Toshinden? Very easy, indeed.
Take five or six good Jaguar programmers, with Francois-
Yves as the manager, since he knows this kind of game
well, a 3D-Studio genius for the characters, and one or
two good 2D graphicians for the mappings. Wait eight to
twelve monthes, put everything on a CD, and you'll have
something better than Toshinden on a Jaguar. [...] I don't
say that a Toshinden-like fighter is going to be done on the
Jaguar, but that it could be done: The Jaguar hardware
can handle this kind of game with no problem at all.“?”9
While programmers on projects like Tekken or Toshinden
had clear guidelines and clear role assignments, Bertrand
had worked out the actual game concept himself on Fight
For Life, was responsible for the design of the game as
well as its programming, and de facto took on the role of
producer while familiarizing himself with a development
environment that was completely new to him. That Atari
declared they were willing to create their own Atari Magic
1 (AM1) programming team with Betrand after Sega‘s
model, which would work on further projects, was more
than optimistic.?°°

279 Atari Explorer Online, 28.03.1995
280 Atari Explorer Online, 27.02.1995

270

To Atari’s and Bertrand‘s dismay, Next Generation maga-
zine published a review of the pre-release version of the
game in their May 1995 issue, giving the impression that
the game was already available. The rating was scathing:
“Movement is silly. Characters shuffle around the ring
with all of the grace and poise of an injured hunchback.
[...] Although this game is a step in the right direction, the
horrible fighting movements are reminiscent of ‘Rock ‘em
Sock ‘em Robots’, which leaves Fight For Life unable to
even compare to the excellent titles currently available.”**
According to Francois-Yves Bertrand, the editors had
talked to him in advance and knew very well that this was
not the finished game. Atari took this as an opportunity to
have the game thoroughly reworked. Ted Hoff explained
in an interview with Atari Explorer Online that the game
would not be released for the 1995 Christmas season and
that numerous aspects would have to be fundamentally
revised.?®? The revision phase of the game was now joined
by Bill Rehbock as executive producer and J. Patton as
producer.

A matching six button controller for this and the other
beat ‘em ups Atari had released for the Jaguar in the
meantime was released in the fall of 1995, about two years
after the Jaguar‘s premiere. This “Pro Controller” included
a slightly redesigned directional pad, six face buttons and
two shoulder buttons. The first mention of this controller
was in the February issue of Atari Explorer Online, where
Laury Scott also mentioned that this pad was intended

as a pack-in for a “fully integrated” Jaguar combining
module bay and CD drive — also known as Jaguar Duo.”°3

281 Next Generation 5/1995, p. 90
282 Atari Explorer Online, 20.07.1995
283 Atari Explorer Online, 06.02.1995

271

The design resembled the original joypad, but lost the
decorative slat-like bumps on the front that were the last
visible relic of the Panther design. The expanded but-

ton layout, however, came with a knack for maintaining
backward compatibility with previous games: The X, Y,
and Z fire buttons triggered the same actions as the 7, 8,
and 9 buttons on the number pad. The shoulder buttons
Land R corresponded to buttons 4 and 6. Thus, Atari was
not only ahead of the console pads of the Sony PlayStation
and the Sega Saturn — both of which were also launched in
the USA in 1995 — in terms of number of buttons. With its
total of 22 buttons, this pad remains the “Pro Controller”
with the most buttons to this day.

Retail or derail

While Atari‘s flagship polygon project would not be re-
leased as planned and its programmer even feared for its
completion internally, there was also a lot more at stake
for Atari that very year. Since mid-1995, the Tramiels
had quietly suspended production of the Jaguar until
further notice.?*4 The company had been fully focused on
the Jaguar, which had to hold its own against Sony‘s and
Sega‘s new consoles in that year‘s Christmas sales, while
at the same time differentiating itself from Nintendo‘s
and Sega‘s 16-bit machines and holding its own against
3D0 and 32X. “Business is war,” Jack Tramiel used to say.
Accordingly, Atari was fighting a three-front war — and
it wasn‘t looking good for them. To strengthen ties with
distributors, Atari brought on board outside consultants
from Wong & Associates in April 1994, who had already
advised Sega and Capcom, among others.”°5 Sunnyvale
had burned many bridges in the past with its dealers

284 Atari SEC 10K Filing, 12.04.1996
285 Silicon Times Report, 14.04.1995

272

— now it was high time to rebuild good relations. Because
the southern part of California was one of the strongest
markets for Atari, the first tests were also to be carried out
there. For this purpose, the dealers received some good
Jaguar games for free, including AvP, Doom, Val D‘Tsere
Skiing and Snowboarding, Iron Soldier and Tempest
2000, and it was up to them whether they wanted to sell
them or perhaps keep them as a goodie for the employees.
Dealers could also order merchandising materials and a
free Jaguar kiosk. The problem, however, was that deal-
ers had no space to give away. Companies had to pay for
premium retail placements, especially if their products
were less popular with customers. More space for Jaguar
products instead of SNES and Genesis? That meant limit-
ing sales opportunities for established and in-demand
products at the retailer‘s risk. For some stores in Califor-
nia that were sympathetic to Atari, this may indeed have
been an interesting possibility. But nationwide, such a
strategy had no chance without further financial incen-
tives for dealers. All this was supported with a regional
TV advertising campaign that aired on KCOP, KTLA and
KCAL during basketball broadcasts or series like Star
Trek: Voyager, Babylon 5 or American Gladiators.?°°

In the fast-paced commercial, a male voice explains to
quickly changing game scenes and short text inserts in 3D
optics: “You want Games? Jaguar has got fast 3D 64-bit
games. You want slow flat games? No. Slow is for turtles.
Flat is for boys. Fast and 3D is for games. Jaguar games.
So scary you'll cry like a wimpering fool. But you won’t
feel like a fool because the games won’t be flat, slow, flat,
slow, flat, slow. Hurry up and get fast and 3D. Games that
are now playing. Games that are coming soon. Games that

286 Silicon Times Report, 14.04.1995
273

got a ten because they got a good beat you can dance to.
You want fast 3D games? Here’s an idea: Atari Jaguar.
64-bit. $159 bucks. Yeah, one-fifty-nine. Do The Math!”
Ron Beltramo, responsible for marketing at Atari, stated:
“Atari is putting a blitz together in Los Angeles and the
program includes advertising, store level merchandising,
and dealer programs designed to get retailers on a positive
track with Jaguar! The television is for five weeks [...] and
will deliver the new Jaguar price message and commu-
nicate that there is a lot of current and new software for
new Jaguar purchasers. We are having the local Atari user
group work with our local sales rep firm (Wong & Associ-
ates) to hit the stores and deliver the advertising message,
point of sale materials, Jaguar software to demonstrate

in the store, and check the stores to make sure that the
Jaguar is well stocked with hardware and software. Atari
is also resetting all Toys ‘R’ Us stores where Jaguar is car-
ried to set up four foot sections and the hardware displays
properly within the next three weeks. So lots is happening
and we expect Los Angeles to be a showcase market for
Atari before the end of April. We at Atari are really excited
about what we are doing in Los Angeles and expect to be
successful with the effort we are putting into the market-
place. [...] Jaguar is sold at Toys ‘R’ Us, Good Guys, Bab-
bages, Electronic Boutiques, Tower Records, 20/20 Video,
Adrays, Fedco, Virgin Mega Stores, Game Star, Radical
Video, Mascos, and selected Wherehouse stores (and
other independent accounts).“?°” So there was a lot for
Atari to do. But, as it had done in late 1993, the company
focused on local testing rather than uniform, nationwide
action. In many other U.S. cities, little changed for Atari,
especially since the Southern California promition tied

287 Silicon Times Report, 14.04.1995
274

up many of the company’‘s resources. The first two quar-
terly results were dismal, moreover, and it increasingly
seemed that Atari didn‘t have enough hands to plug all the
holes in its sinking boat at once. It didn‘t help much that
Robert A. Jung learned that Atari could theoretically get
by with twelve million dollars per year for its operational
costs.?°° Iron Soldier developer Marc Rosocha remem-
bers a hopeful yet difficult time: “After the launch of Iron
Soldier 1, we seamlessly continued working on [S2 for
Jaguar CD. But we wanted to finally tackle other genres,
[for example] a racing engine as the basis for several titles
at once. To do this, I provided devkits and information

to other coders outside of the ongoing [S2 project and let
them experiment with game prototypes. At the same time,
I worked with Sean Patten on suitable concepts so that we
could get these projects through Atari‘s Greenlight process
as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, things didn‘t go
smoothly, because Atari often had new managers come in,
make themselves important, cause confusion, and leave
again. And of course [S2 had to be developed for the CD
platform. So I had all kinds of projects in the pipeline, but
unfortunately 1995 was to be the year in which time ran
out inexorably for all involved. Into the supposed upscal-
ing of our activities came rumors of cuts within the Jaguar
program in the summer, followed by layoffs of even really
important employees in the fall and winter. It became in-
creasingly clear that the Tramiels had lost heart. The only
question was how far this process would go. New Jaguar
projects had thus naturally become unthinkable, but at
the same time I was repeatedly assured that [S2 was not in
danger and that our collaboration was not up for grabs.”

288 Silicon Times Report, 14.04.1995
275

Twin Peaks

In early November 1995 in Longmont, Colorado, RunPC
employees set up a small booth in the middle of the aisle
at Twin Peaks Mall. Inside the roughly 46,000-square-
foot mall, Jon Willig and his team stacked Jaguar boxes
on top of each other on a mobile sales stand, set up two
kiosks, and prepared everything for the grand opening

on Saturday, November 4. “Our goal was to be in-place
and highly-visible prior to the holiday shopping season,”
Jon Willig recalls. For him, the Jaguar Shop at Twin
Peaks Mall was a continuation of a tried-and-true concept
from his college days, he explains: “There were multiple
reasons that we built the concept around the Jaguar and
Lynx. Personally, I had grown up with Atari, from the VCS
& 5200 to Atari Computers. The joy that Atari products
had provided led to my career in computers and IT. While
attending high school I jumped at the opportunity to work
for a small authorized Atari Service Center in Boulder,
Colorado, and ultimately started my own Atari dealership
in 1987 while attending college. As a marketing major it
was obvious that Atari Corp. had hit a homerun when it
came to two of marketing’s four Ps: Product and Price.
However, they continued to strike out with the other two
Ps: Promotion & Place (distribution). So, I saw the op-
portunity to remedy this in a very specific market. The
Atari ST was the perfect PC for the budget minded college
student, and out-performed MAC or DOS systems of the
time. However, most consumers did not even know Atari
was in the computer business. I believed it was just a mat-
ter of putting the product in front of the market. We did
this by operating a booth in the student center and setting
a permanent display in the campus library. My student
run company would then respond to calls by providing

276

in person demonstrations and sales consultation. Once

a purchase was made we would deliver and install the
computer in the comfort of their home or dorm, all for less
than half of the computers offered at the campus book-
store. Thus, Run PC — The computer store that runs to
you was born in 1987. Upon graduation I opened several
retail locations. Since Run PC still offered Atari comput-
ers alongside PC & Apple compatibles, offering the Jaguar
and Lynx was a simple extension of our business. How-
ever, when it came to Atari’s marketing mix not much had
changed. We found that the majority of our customers did
not even know Atari was still in business by 1995, despite
Atari’s limited efforts. Once again Atari had produced
cutting edge hardware at fantastic prices but still lacked
promotion & distribution. So once again, I turned to what
worked. We provided direct product visibility by offering a
hands-on approach to marketing in our local markets. If it
proved successful, it could also be a model for future mar-
keting efforts by Atari itself. So to sum up; it came down
to my belief in the hardware, as well and the opportunity
to offer a under exposed product to our local market,

with the possibility of future expansion into other loca-
tions. There was really no space to enter the market with

a competing product, since they were already well repre-
sented both locally and nationally.” The small store in the
Twin Peaks Mall became a big success on the very first day
— not only for Run PC, but also for Atari. The company
launched a press release about the mall store already on
November 7, in which Ted Hoff explained: “We are proud
to have worked with Run PC and to have opened the first
ever Jaguar-only mall location. We support the concept of
selling product in locations where customers can see and

277

play the Jaguar system themselves.”?°? As quickly became
apparent, the Jaguar had previously lacked this type of
presentation above all else to generate consumer inter-
est and sales. Jon Willig remembers: “Exposure was the
key to selling the system. I do not believe there were any
other dedicated shops. The proof of concept came from
my own experience and was never duplicated; most likely
due to timing and the limited lifecycle of the Jaguar. Atari
Corp. was primarily a hardware company still focused on
building the best possible tech for the lowest price. They
were still under the impression that by doing so it would
bring consumers and software publishers to them. How-
ever, they found themselves competing in a market soon
to be dominated by massive entertainment and publish-
ing companies.” The demand was so high that Run PC
ran into supply problems: “There were some shortages
during the holiday season. However, we also failed to
predict the initial demand. We did not pre-order enough
equipment that first season. We actually had to take a
last minute trip to the now defunct big box store Ultimate
Electronics to supplement our inventory. We purchased
their entire hardware inventory at full retail in order to fill
back orders by Christmas Eve. Ironically, we were able to
sell much more product from our limited floor space than
the big box locations, where systems were languishing on
store shelfs. My guess is our single purchase auto-trigged
a reorder for that location. Atari was actually willing to
compensate us for the price difference, by discounting
future orders.” After Christmas 1995, Willig even opened
another point of sale at the Twin Peaks Mall: “We did not
close it but instead rolled it into the opening of another
computer store in the same location. We continued to

289 Atari Press Release, “Atari Corp. and Run PC open Jaguar Mall
Store”, 07.11.1995

278

support the product long after it was discontinued, due to
the local market that we had created. Yes, the concept was
very successful in our local market.”

Atari, on the other hand, didn‘t play out a much bigger
success in the media: In the summer of 1995, a listing for
the Jaguar at WalMart was in the offing. In about 400
superstores in the USA, Jaguar console boxes and game
titles were stacked up for Christmas. Don Thomas, how-
ever, described the situation not only as a success: “Atari
invested heavily in the product and mechanisms required
to serve the WalMart chain. But the philosophical beliefs
of the Atari decision makers that great products never
need advertising or promotions, put the WalMart deal
straight into a tailspin. With money tied up in the prod-
uct on shelves as well as the costs to distribute them to
get there, not much was left to saturate any marketplace
with advertising. While parents rushed into stores to get
their kids Saturns or PlayStations, the few that picked up
the Jaguar were chastised by disappointed children on
Christmas day.”?9° By the time the Jaguar finally became
available in large numbers nationwide in late 1995, two
years after its debut, it was practically old news. Marion
Cyrus Martin remembers: “As soon as I got Tempest 2000
and then later on Alien us Predator I was so enthusias-
tic about the potential all over again. I talked a friend
into getting a Jaguar and Doom and our two families all
shared some great experiences borrowing each others‘
games and enjoying the console. We were both disap-
pointed that there weren’t more and better games com-
ing to Jaguar and when PlayStation came out we both
moved on from Jaguar at that point. But it is a period of

290 Don Thomas: Did you hear anyone say “Goodbye”? 04.10.1996
279

time that I do remember in a mostly positive way and it
was great to have had a good friend to share the experi-
ence with. I ended up selling it around the time I bought
the original PlayStation. I did buy one again but not until
around 2015 when I was collecting older game consoles.”
Atari invested too little in commercials to keep the inter-
est of their target group high. Too little was invested in
games that would make the Jaguar appear as an interest-
ing and cost-effective alternative to Saturn, PlayStation,
32X or 3DO. By the end of 1995, it was clear: The Jaguar
was flat, slow, flat, slow, flat, slow. The CD add-on? Not

a single TV commercial promoted it. Virtual Reality? Put
on hold because Atari didn‘t think its own product had
much of a chance, given the sluggish sales of Nintendo‘s
Virtual Boy, and its crushing finances meant it couldn't be
interested in launching another niche product at the price
of a PlayStation with just one or two games. Silicon Times
Report reported on this in November 1995: “[Don Thom-
as] confirmed that the Jaguar VR headset is up in the air
until a number of issues have been resolved; Atari rejected
Virtuality‘s optics, although Mr. Thomas wasn‘t sure as to
whether the problem was a lack of quality or an unfeasible
production cost. He stated that for the project to continue,
the optics problem would have to be resolved, but he also
stated that some other factors would have to come togeth-
er, with an emphasis on the need for convincing research
that the market is ready for a Jag VR headset. He pointed
out Virtual Boy‘s poor sales and suggested that Atari
wouldn't want to have the same thing happen.”**: Hasbro
had also discontinued its costly VR project by this time.
On December 15, 1995, Atari announced in a press release
that it was lowering the retail price for the Jaguar to $99.

2091 Silicon Times Report, 17.11.1995
280

Between October and the end of December, Pitfall: The
Mayan Adventure, Ruiner Pinball, Missile Command

3D, I-War, Supercross 3D, Fever Pitch Soccer, Attack

of the Mutant Penguins and Atari Karts were released.

A total of 23 cartridge games came out in 1995, almost
twice as many as in the first year after its debut, although
only four of these were 3D games. There were no more
large-scale advertising campaigns before Christmas. Even
the deal with WalMart could no longer boost sales of the
Jaguar — Saturn and PlayStation had already established
themselves with buyers. And those who were still hesitant
about purchasing a next-gen console had plenty of reasons
to prefer the cheaper 16-bit console games on Genesis and
SNES. “In early 1996, WalMart began returning all re-
maining inventory of Jaguar products. After reversing an
‘advertising allowance’ Atari was obligated to accept, the
net benefit Atari realized was an overflowing warehouse of
inventory in semi-crushed boxes and with firmly affixed
price and security tags”, Don Thomas remembered.?%”

The stress and tension among the Atari team were huge.
Some newcomers had left the company already, others
who stayed were simply exhausted. The mood in Sunny-
vale in December 1995 was anything but rosy. And just
on the same day that Atari announced the price cut of the
Jaguar to $99, Sam Tramiel drove to Stanford Medical
Center with chest pains. To his dismay, he learned there
that he had suffered a mild heart attack. After two days
under observation at the hospital, he was released, but
needed to rest. John Skruch recalls in an interview with
Kay Savetz: “That freaked the family out. The fact that
he was so young and he had a heart attack. So he was off

292 Don Thomas: Did you hear anyone say “Goodbye”? 04.10.1996
281

scene for months, and Jack basically took over. And Jack
said: ‘I don‘t know this game stuff, I don‘t know any of
this, we‘re gonna go back to something which I under-
stand, which is white box hardware.’“*%3 In one meeting,
Jack reportedly threw a Jaguar console against the wall
and then said, “You can pack your bags, I‘m taking your
toys away!”2% And the Tramiels finally did the math.

Total revenue in the years 1993-1995

1993 1994 1995
293 ANTIC Podcast Interview 299, 28.08.2017

294 ST Computer, 12/1996
282

RunPC booth in November 1995, Longmont, Colorado, at Twin Peaks
Mall. It was the first and only mall shop of its kind for the Jaguar, ap-
pearing at a time when the system was already internally discarded and
other plans for the company were made. The concept, however, turned
out to be a success. Photos used with kind permission by Jon Willig.

283

GAME OVER

We founded this market in the
first place and we are not about
to give it up.

Augie Liguori

284

By the end of 1995, Atari had sold $9.9 million worth of
Jaguar products on total sales of $14.6 million. Atari
generated about 44 percent of its sales in Europe, al-
though only a tiny fraction of its advertising budget went
to its European headquarters in England. Atari ran a net
loss of $49.6 million that year, had shipped a total of only
125,000 Jaguar consoles by the end of 1995, and had
another 100,000 unsold consoles in stock. Sunnyvale had
not placed any new orders for Jaguar production since
mid-1995. And instead of more, the Tramiels had actually
spent less on advertising, marketing and distribution in
1995: $12.7 million, compared to $14.7 million the year
before.?°5 The question now was no longer whether Atari
would leave the video game business, but when. While
Ted Hoff resigned on January 12, 1996, and more than 20
other employees were either laid off or quit, Chief Finan-
cial Officer Augie Liguori stated: “We're not leaving. We
have $50 million, and we fully intend to continue being
involved in strategic investments, developing and publish-
ing for all our platforms. We were in the video game
business a long time before Ted joined us. Just because he
has gone does not mean that we are quitting the business.
We founded this market in the first place and we are not
about to give it up. We are still supporting the Jaguar and
we are still continuing with our recently announced plans
as regards Atari Interactive.”*°° After such a disastrous
year-end result, however, his insurance failed to reassure
anyone: $50 million was at best enough to last until the
end of 1996, if the previous year‘s results were any indica-
tion. And the Tramiels knew that all too well. According to
insider rumors, Sam Tramiel had met with JTS founder
Sirjang “Jugi” Tandon in November of the previous year at

295 Atari SEC 10-K Filing, 12.04.1996
2906 Silicon Times Report, 19.01.1996

285

the Las Vegas airport after Comdex to discuss a possible
investment in his company. Sam Tramiel had already
secured the backing for this within his company in Octo-
ber 1995. At that time, the decision was made to give up
the Jaguar: “By the second half of 1995, Atari and its
Board of Directors recognized that despite the significant
financial resources that had been devoted to the Jaguar
product, it was unlikely that Jaguar would ever become a
broadly accepted video game console or that Jaguar
technology would be broadly adopted by software title
developers. As a result, at its meeting on October 13, 1995,
the Atari Board of Directors determined to substantially
reduce the resources devoted to the Jaguar and related
products, and to change Atari‘s strategic focus by devoting
its resources to PC software publishing and strategic
opportunities. In particular, the Atari Board of Directors
directed management to focus on evaluating strategic
opportunities for Atari including potential investments
and acquisitions. [...] As a result of continued disappoint-
ing sales, management revised estimates and wrote-down
inventory by an additional $5.0 million in the first quarter
of 1996. As of the end of May 1996, Atari had approxi-
mately 90,000 in inventory.”?"” At a follow-up meeting in
December 1995, talks became more concrete. With
Jaguar‘s Christmas sales slump looming, the owning
family quickly looked for a way out. And while Ted Hoff
announced the formation of Atari Interactive on January
2, 1996, the Tramiels were arranging a new strategy for
the Fuji-logoed company in the background. Hoff saw
great potential in publishing well-known Atari titles on
other systems, but nothing more was to come of it except
Tempest 2000 for the PC: Of the 73 or so employees Atari

297 Information for the Special Meeting of Stockholders,
15.07.1996, p. 31, p. 70
286

still had at the end of 1995, only 30 remained at the end of
January.”9> Adding to the rumor mill about Atari‘s exit
from the video game business were news that the com-
pany wanted to clear its headquarters by the end of
February 1996, as well as liquidate its warehouse by the
end of April. In addition, there was a report from
MMWIRE on January 18, 1996, according to which Atari
wanted to pull the plug for good. Further news articles on
websites like Next Generation and Game Zero explained
that Atari had already decided internally to join JTS. The
end of Atari as many had known it seemed certain: “Atari
currently has no plans for future internal software devel-
opment of any kind.“*99 Laury Scott took care of the move
in record time in the background, as he explains on his
LinkedIn page: “In early January 1996 [I] was given 60
days to find and renovate a 7,000 squarefeet office, move
Atari from its existing 55,000 squarefeet facility to the
new Office and sell all unnecessary equipment and furni-
ture. The move took place on March 3rd and Atari was
completely out of the ‘old’ office by March 8th.” Ralph
Mariano, editor of Silicon Times Report, explained his
view of things regarding Atari: “In this reporter‘s opinion,
it’s all over but for the noise of the lights being switched
off.”3°° Atari sold a very large part of its remaining stock of
computer hardware, spare parts and peripherals to Best
Electronics, one of the largest Atari dealers in the USA.3”
The one-time video game pioneer had shrunk to a skel-
eton crew by March: “Today the company consists of one
receptionist, three customer service representatives, and a
single product developer (who, it is rumored, was only

298 ST-Report, 19.01.1996
299 ibidem
300 ibidem
301 ST-Report, 23.02.1996

287

retained because he‘s been with the company so long that
it simply cheaper to keep him on staff under salary than
pay any severance package).”2°? Numerous game titles for
the Jaguar that were still in development were unceremo-
niously discontinued. A few that had been completed were
nevertheless released by Atari in the following months,
including Zoop and NBA Jam: Tournament Edition on
January 9, Defender 2000 on February 14, Attack of the
Mutant Penguins on March 15, and Fight For Life on
April 19 — the last Jaguar game released by Atari. Out-
standing development costs were estimated to be between
six and eight million dollars for titles including Brett Hull
Hockey, Mortal Kombat 3, Nerf and Breakout 2000.
Electronics Boutique, meanwhile, lowered the price of the
Jaguar to $49.95 in order to sell off its inventory as
quickly as possible.3°3 But even at that price, the console
was not attractive enough to sell quickly in large numbers.
Meanwhile, Sony Computer Entertainment America
reported unprecedented success with the PlayStation,
selling about one million units by March 25 in the U.S.
alone. Add to that a total of seven million games sold for
the 32-bit console, and a gold-rush atmosphere among
publishers took place, as they couldn‘t start developing
new games for this next-gen console fast enough. Sega
followed in a distant second place with around 400,000
Saturn consoles. And those who had not yet decided on
one of the two consoles were hoping for Nintendo‘s N64,
which had been presented for the first time at E3 1996.
Nintendo had even advertised in print ads that the console
was not yet available: “You can‘t buy this,” read an ad in
the British magazine Ultimate Future Gaming in January
1996, for example, “You can't buy it yet. After all, nothing

302 ST-Report, 16.02.1996
303 ST Report, 15.03.1996, Ultimate Future Games 5/1996, p. 14

288

this good comes easy. But do you really want something
less powerful? Wait for it ...” As far as potential Jaguar
gamers were concerned, the waiting was long over. After a
little more than two and a half years, Atari had sold only
about 135,000 Jaguar consoles, 10,000 of them since
January 1996.°% In the face of strong competition, there
was no improvement in sight, on the contrary: in the first
quarter, the company with the iconic Fuji logo achieved
sales of just $1.27 million and a minus of $800,000.
While Sony lowered the retail price of its PlayStation in
the U.S. to $199 in June 1996, causing bellyaches for Sega
and Nintendo alike, Atari at the time had submitted all the
necessary documents for its planned reverse merger with
JTS to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC for
short) and waited for their approval, which came at the
end of July. Around this time, the only product to emerge
from the past legal dispute and the resulting licensing
agreement between Atari and Sega was also released: The
Arcade Classics game collection for Sega‘s Genesis with
Centipede, Pong and Missile Command in a reworked 16-
bit version which, however, could not trigger any storms
of enthusiasm in 1996 in view of fast 3D graphics. On the
other hand, the PC version of Tempest 2000 sold well,
and was the only game from the Atari Interactive division,
which had been proclaimed at the beginning of the year,
to make it into European stores at the end of the first
quarter of 1996. Atari saw itself strengthened by the fact
that at best it could still earn money with licenses, while
the Jaguar continued to disappoint.

The unglamorous end for the brand took place in a confer-
ence room at the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich &

304 ST-Report, 02.08.1996
289

Rosati in Palo Alto, where Atari‘s last shareholder meeting
was held. About 20 shareholders had gathered there on
July 30, 1996, to vote on the merger with JTS. Within only
30 minutes the deal was sealed and the meeting ended.
From that day on, Atari was no more than a tiny depart-
ment with three employees at hard disk manufacturer
JTS. Not a word was said at the shareholders‘ meeting
about the further fate of the Jaguar and its remaining
stock. What was once supposed to be the future of the
company was buried as quietly and secretly as if it had
never taken place. Atari veteran John Skruch was the only
remaining employee of the video game division one more
move later.3°5 Atari subsequently sold off all remaining
stock of the Jaguar console, paying no further attention

to sensitive documents, some of which turned up at Atari
dealers who had bought large remnants from Sunnyvale.
Paul Westphal remembers: “I spent three weeks down in
El Dorado with Bruce at B & C Computervisions to help
out. One evening while sitting in the living room, he hands
me this huge binder which had the complete development
of the Jaguar CD unit in it. I remember reading emails
between Atari, Philips and the plastic manufacturer that
was down south somewhere. That plastic company had no
experience doing this sort of thing, and the lid mech was
the most difficult part for them. The Jag CD unit failed
seven or eight out of ten drop tests after all the design
changes and plastic mold problems were sorted out. There
were some emails regarding the bios for it and one of the
Tramiel‘s was working on that with one other person. Bot-
tom line: It‘s not the actual design that is it‘s flaw, but just
the cheap approach and the hell bent need to keep costs
down that makes it break when you look at it. Slow and

305 Silicon Times Report, 09.08.1996, 13.09.1996
290

unfocused communication between all the key players also
seemed to be a factor. That binder was about four inches
thick. Probably one of the coolest things I had seen down
there, next to the pallets of new, boxed Jaguars.” Mean-
while, Liquidator TigerSoftware bought the bulk of the
leftover consoles and games in the U.S. at $20 per console
and a dollar per game, offering them in various combina-
tions for $59.99 starting in 1997. Atari‘s last hope, the
Jaguar CD, sold for $89.99. In the process, TigerSoftware
aggressively advertised the supposed technical similarity
to Nintendo’‘s next-gen console and cheered all too mer-
rily: “The Atari Jaguar system delivers 64-bit speed and
rendering — just like Nintendo 64. Jaguar delivers 16.8
million colors — just like Nintendo 64. And when it comes
to processing power — the Jaguar beats Nintendo 64 with
its multiple RISC processors and full-blown 64-bit archi-
tecture.” A small portion of the leftover Jaguar consoles
that Tiger did not take over went to other smaller dealers,
as recalled by Ron McAdams, who was working for an
online auction house at the time: “When Atari discontin-
ued the Jaguar, they seemingly came up with a plan to
liquidate any remaining inventory leveraging mail order
houses like Tiger Direct and secondary players like those
in the burgeoning online auction game. The company

I worked for had a large online presence through these
early internet auction houses and was able to secure a few
hundred Jaguar consoles, accessories, and select first-par-
ty software titles. They turned around and bundled these
into Jaguar starter bundles. The bundles were sold for an
average price of $75-100. The bundles included a second
controller, four or five launch-year software titles, and a
bonus copy of Cybermorph. Bundles that included AvP
did seem to sell at higher prices than those that included

291

more family friendly titles. Sales were steady, but I do
remember that we did receive a few returns on the Jaguar
bundle. Mostly from people dissatisfied that the console
was dead in retail — not that this was something that we
ever attempted to hide — or that they did not like the de-
sign of the controllers, or that they found the overlay gim-
mick frustrating, especially parents with younger children.
Eventually these returned bundles were tested, cleaned,
repackaged, and sold as used at a considerable discount
through the company’s retail operation. It took us only

a month or two to sell the entire lot of machines. We did
end up with an overstock of controllers, but I believe
those moved when we started cold-calling former auction
winners. We never received any of the CD addons, as I'm
sure what limited stock there was of those made it into the
regular retail supply chain while the console was still in
production or was gobbled up with larger players before
we had an option to purchase any.” Atari had finally left
the Jaguar behind — but the small but loyal fan commu-
nity was by no means ready to give up on the console.

292

293,

AFTERLIFE

Jaguar fans were very excited
about all of these releases, as at
that point many original own-
ers still had their systems and
Telegames had released their
final Jaguar games just one or
two years prior.

Carl Forhan

294

1996 was the year that the Atari Jaguar went from being
an endangered to an extinct console species. It had been
sitting on store shelves like lead during the 1995 Christ-
mas sales in the U.S. and in Europe. Electronics Bou-
tique in the UK, for example, told Atari in January 1996
that the merchandise it had received in November of the
previous year — Jaguar consoles and games — was selling
too slowly, and that they would now consolidate all that
merchandise from around the country and return it to
Atari. However, Atari was not at all interested in a return,
although it was contractually agreed, and sued Electronics
Boutique. The decision in that particular case was made
in July 1997, with Sunnyvale losing the case.3°° Atari had
reached a new historic low: no one, it seemed, wanted to
buy the Jaguar. The remaining distributors were disgrun-
tled, the last developers were disillusioned and potential
buyers turned to competing products of Nintendo, Sega
and Sony. But at the same time, this period also marked
the beginning of a support by small publishers, retailers
and hobby programmers that continues to this day. First
and foremost, the British software house Telegames very
quickly took over part of the shambles left behind by Atari
and contacted developers to publish their finished games.
The game that tipped the scales was the 3D action role-
playing game Towers II by JV Enterprises. The title had
been sent to Atari in late 1995 for review and approval,
but Sunnyvale had halted all activities in this regard until
further notice. So one of the developers, Vince Valenti,
declared in April 1996: “In November Atari sent us an
outstanding evaluation for the game. We thought we had

306 Atari Corp. (UK) Ltd v Electronics Boutique Stores (UK),
England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division),
15 July 1997, https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/
5a938b3f60do03e5f6b82be3f

295

it. Then Atari downsized and several games including ours
got pushed aside. We decided to find a financial backer.
We found one, and was beginning to prepare Towers IT
for release. We were just waiting for prices, when Atari
merged with JTS. Our backer then backed out. [...] We do
not have the resources to release such a title on our own,
so as it stands, Towers II is on hold.”3°” Telegames jumped
into the breach, securing the rights to this title, which was
released along with Breakout 2000 in November 1996.

At the same time, Telegames announced it would release
Tron Soldier 2, World Tour Racing, Worms and Zero 5
for the Jaguar the following year. Pete Mortimer, founder
of Telegames, recalls that his company also had other
projects planned for the Jaguar: “Atari was always diffi-
cult to deal with — part of the reason they struggled to get
third party support. Development kit and support was not
as good as other manufacturers. We had five other Jaguar
games in development when Atari finished selling the Jag-
uar, which we had to abandon due to the continued devel-
opment costs and the reducing sales opportunity. We were
working on International Cricket, Ultimate Brain Games
(Chess, Backgammon and Casino games), James Pond,
Virtuoso and an unnamed role playing game.” Telegames
was also in negotiations to bring back remaining stock of
the Jaguar. Pete Mortimer explains: “When Atari closed
the European operation, we bought all the stock they had
in their warehouse and in the UK.” For a while, Telegames
was one of the few sources of supply for anyone who still
wanted to buy a Jaguar and new games for the console

in Europe. GAME, Electronics Boutique and many other
stores sold off their inventory, if they couldn't return it, at
reduced prices. James Nudds, senior marketing manager

307 ST-Report, 29.04.1996
296

at GAME in late 2022 and a 22-year veteran of the com-
pany, explains: “By the time I started with GAME in 2000,
the Jaguar stock had already been sold through in clear-
ance due to poor sales and overstocks. Which is a shame
as I would have purchased one myself for £50.” Little did
he know back then that Atari’s seemingly haunted cat con-
sole should reappear one more time on store shelves. At
ECTS 2001 in London, Pete Mortimer struck a deal to sell
to GAME the entire remaining stock of consoles and Atari
games that Telegames had bought from Atari years earlier.
The video game retail chain subsequently offered the Jag-
uar initially for £59.99 and individual games for £29.99,
but within a few months the prices had already dropped
to £10 for a new console in December 2001, with games
available for as little as £7.99.3°° The stock was sold off
within a year. So in a way, the Jaguar managed to stay on
the market at least partially until the new millennium. Not
quite the ten years that Atari had envisioned, and certainly
not quite the way they wanted it all to turn out. However,
it still seemed too early to awaken nostalgic associations
in potential buyers. Alongside Atari Lynx, Sega Game
Gear and associated games, the retro section at GAME
didn‘t exactly turn out to be the sales success they had
hoped for. The last undecided buyers had already snapped
up Jaguars at the end of the 90‘s, when the console was
still available sporadically at European and U.S. retailers
and even reached a new target group at knockdown prices,
who were enthusiastic about the trash charm of the games
or regarded the Jaguar as an inexpensive addition to their
video game collection. In addition to the U.S., sales of the

308 Matt Gander, GAME‘s retro racket took us back to the ‘90s ten
years too early, https://www.gamesasylum.com/2018/01/30/
games-retro-racket-took-us-back-to-the-90s-ten-years-
too-early/

297

Jaguar were also in full swing in Europe in 1996, as Fred
Mejier recalls: “I bought my Jaguar in April 1996 at Dutch
toy store called Intertoys. This company was one of the
buyers of the European ‘left over’ Atari stock in Vianen,
The Netherlands. Intertoys had stores all across The Neth-
erlands and advertised on TV and in many newspapers.
The price was fl. 199 (about €90) for a new and complete
boxed system including one controller and the game
Tempest. All other games were sold at Intertoys for fl. 49
(about €22) each. A few months later the prices dropped
consideraly. I can remember that games were sold for

fl. 29 (about €13) and when you bought two you got the
third one for free.” René Vetter remembers: “I bought my
Jaguar sometime in 1996 at Karstadt for 125 DM, includ-
ing Cybermorph. Since I grew up with Atari XL/XE, then
with the ST, I didn't hesitate long at the price in the sale. I
guess I didn‘t expect anything and was just curious. After
that, I added about ten used games, including Wolfen-
stein and Tempest.“ Austin Cox recalls that the Jaguar
was perhaps the most affordable option to get a new
video game console: “I bought my first one in “98 when
they were being liquidated for $30 for new consoles. So I
kind of missed the build-up to launch and what fans went
through as games trickled out. [It was at] Kay-Bee Toys.
Every game they had was $9.99 or $4.99. I was broke,

in my first apartment and needed a cheap system. I love
underdogs. Also, having it in my first apartment at 18
years old, that’s an age and time where things embed on
you. I liked Ultra Vortek, Baldies, Attack of the Mutant
Penguins and Trevor McFur, but none of the games were
really that good to me.” Michael Liinzer also bought his
Jaguar around this time: “Back then, I often drove by the
local electrical stores to look for offers. That‘s how I ended

298

up at the Quelle-Technik store in the Miilheim-Karlich in-
dustrial park. Even back then, this was the pitiful remnant
left over from Quelle after the closure of the department
store in Koblenz. And there it was, right behind the cash
register in one of those leftover baskets. The console, the
second controller and in addition to Cybermorph even
with Tempest, all tied together with plastic strings. The
price was a little over 100 DM, I think 119 or 129 DM,
which was a good price. After all, PlayStation games at
that time easily cost 100 DM. And since I already had the
Lynx, it was a nice addition to my relatively small collec-
tion. So I didn‘t hesitate and bought it. But I never really
warmed up to it. The best games were available for other
consoles, many of them for the Amiga or even Rayman
for PSX, and most of the other games were rather sub-par.
Also, the 3D wow effect had passed by then.“

Setting the Jaguar free

While the Jaguar was reduced to leftover bins, John
Skruch at JTS unwound the remains of what was left

of Atari. He sold the molds for the Jaguar‘s plastic case
including the CD add-on to Steve Mortensen in May 1997
for a total price of $1,800.°°9 Mortensen had developed a
camera system for dental laboratories, for which he had
already built a prototype and was in contact with Stosser
Industries for manufacturing. His prototype reminded
Stosser of the design of the Jaguar, whose housing the
company had produced for Atari. Stosser established
contact between Skruch and Mortensen. Not expecting the
Jaguar to ever go back into production given the console‘s
poor performance on store shelves even when sold at

309 Adam Koralik, How the Atari Jaguar became Dental

Equipment, Interview with Steve Mortensen, https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=9A PovyGdkhs

299

dumping prices, Skruch gladly agreed to the deal — saving
JTS the cost of disposing of the heavy steel molds. A year
later, John Skruch finally managed to sell off all of Atari‘s
intellectual property. By this time, JTS was also in such
dire financial straits that the company was in desperate
need of any cash injection it could get. “I was the last Atari
guy back in the corner in the dark, licensing stuff. Over

in Europe, there was stuff like Atari T-shirts, Atari fra-
gances, Activision picked up a couple of games. And at the
very end I was licensing a couple of titles to Hasbro. And
Hasbro said: ‘Why don‘t we just take it all?’ So I basically
turned the lights off at Atari by licensing all the intellec-
tual property to Hasbro, at which point I lost my job. As

a lot of other people did at JT Storage which then went
bankrupt,” John Skruch recalls in an interview with Kay
Savetz.3!° On February 23, 1998, HIAC XI, a subsidiary of
Hasbro Interactive, purchased all rights to the Atari brand
and associated game titles for $5 million. In May, HIAC
XI changed its name to Atari Interactive and released
Centipede for PC and PlayStation in the fall of 1998. Even
though Hasbro owned all rights to the Jaguar, there was
no interest on the part of the company‘s management to
reissue the console or publish games for it. Most impor-
tantly, it was unclear what, other than naming rights, Has-
bro actually owned from the Atari acquisition with regard
to the console. After all, there were no Jaguar-specific
patents and not even the case molds were left. All sensitive
documentation about how the console was put together
had been secured by dealers in the sell-off from Atari‘s
warehouses as a kind of by-catch. The Jaguar was only
good for one last PR maneuver, which Hasbro Interactive
announced in a press release on May 14, 1999: “Leading

310 ANTIC Podcast Interview 299, 28.08.2017
300

entertainment software publisher, Hasbro Interactive
announced today it has released all rights that it may
have to the vintage Atari hardware platform, the Jaguar.
[...] This announcement will allow software developers to
create and publish software for the Jaguar system without
having to obtain a licensing agreement with Hasbro In-
teractive for such platform development. Hasbro Interac-
tive cautioned, however, that the developers should not
use the Atari trademark or logo in connection with their
games or present the games as authorized or approved by
Hasbro Interactive.” Richard Cleveland, Head of Market-
ing at Hasbro Interactive‘s Atari Business Unit, stated
very clearly in this announcement that he did not consider
the Jaguar to be a next-gen console, but at the same time
cleared the way for so-called homebrew developments

on the console: “Hasbro Interactive is strictly focused on
developing and publishing entertainment software for
the PC and the next generation game consoles. We realize
there is a passionate audience of diehard Atari fans who
want to keep the Jaguar system alive, and we don‘t want
to prevent them from doing that. We will not interfere
with the efforts of software developers to create software
for the Jaguar system.” And just like that, the Jaguar was
released into the wild.

It’s in the games

At that time Carl Forhan founded his own video game
company and fully concentrated on the two Atari consoles
Lynx and Jaguar, as he explains: “I contacted Atari I think
when JTS owned them, and I spoke to Hasbro legal on the
phone when they were in the process of releasing rights to
the Jaguar to ensure that it covered the Lynx too, as the
PR did not mention Lynx, but Hasbro assured me Lynx

301

was also included. Songbird Productions was founded in
1999, even though I had been working on learning how

to code the Lynx and Jaguar for about four years prior

to that. In 1998, I started taking pre-orders for my first
Lynx cartridge, a sound tool called SFX. Once I saw that
75+ people were interested in new Lynx carts, I decided to
ramp up my publishing efforts and started sourcing ‘lost’
games for both systems and hence Songbird was born. I
put together a simple plan to buy rights to these old games
and was very surprised how willing these companies were
to work with me to see their orphaned games finally make
it home. The first Jaguar games published in late 1999

/ early 2000 by Songbird were Protector, Soccer Kid,
Hyper Force and Skyhammer. Skyhammer was the most
expensive of the four to produce, hence it actually came
out a few months after the others. Jaguar fans were very
excited about all of these releases, as at that point many
original owners still had their systems and Telegames had
released their final Jaguar games just one or two years
prior. No Jaguar or Lynx games were in USA stores by the
time I launched my first games in 1999. Jaguar releases
from Telegames such as Zero 5 were on some store shelves
in 1997; at least I can confirm I personally saw them at
Electronics Boutique. But at that point, the Jaguar was
dead as there had been no releases from Atari for about 18
months prior. Thus Jag games had cleared out from mass
market stores well before 1999. Skyhammer and Protec-
tor were definitely the most popular. I don‘t remember
sales numbers for those early days anymore, but it was

at least 100 units of each in the first year. That‘s nothing
compared to a mass market release, of course, but I was
doing this as a hobby with zero advertising and really zero
investment, too. I asked people to put down something

302

like $25 per game 6+ months in advance because I needed
the funds to produce everything. Fortunately it all worked
out.” Today, Songbird is still one of the major publish-

ers of new Lynx and Jaguar games. Carl Forhan was also
able to secure the rights to Ultra Vortek as well as some
exclusive Jaguar CD titles such as World Tour Racing and
Battle Morph, for which he has announced cartridge ver-
sions in the coming years.

The persistence of Jaguar fans is also demonstrated by a
game like BattleSphere. In early 2000, 4play and Scato-
logic released the multiplayer space shooter for the Jag-
uar, which had been first shown at E3 1995. At the time,

it was considered the only title that would support the
voice modem announced by Atari. However, since Atari
subsequently reduced support for external developers and
eventually abandoned the Jaguar altogether, the team at
4play faced the challenge of either abandoning the proj-
ect altogether or finishing development part-time — the
dedicated coders opted for the latter. Only the magazine
GameFan published an article about the release in their is-
sue 10/2000 and emphasized the very good graphics and
soundscape, as well as the fact that the title allowed the
connection of up to 16 players via network.3"

New games for Atari‘s Jaguar continue to appear to this
day. Most recently, licensed conversions of the popular
16-bit titles Gods and Chaos Engine caused a stir within
the community. In addition, short demos and teasers

of 3D titles, which hobby programmers are working on,
appear now and again. To this day, Jaguar fans wonder
if the full potential of the console has been realized, or if

311 GameFan Vol. 8, 10/2000, p. 106
303

there will ever be a game that shows the Jaguar is capable
of more than many developers have gotten out of it so far.
John Mathieson’s answer is clear: “I thought that games
like Iron Soldier pushed it to its limits, we worked closely
with the developers and I think they got all Jaguar had to
give,” he explained in a Retro Video Gamer interview.?!*
At the same time, titles like Skyhammer, released in 2000
by Songbird and developed by Rebellion, proved that the
console could handle texture mapping and 3D environ-
ments at a decent framerate. The expectation among fans
is somewhere between hoping for a new 3D game that
might top this experience, and 2D titles that offer a gam-
ing experience at least on par with games on a Genesis or
Amiga.

Perhaps the emulator BigPEmu, released for free by Rich
Whitehouse in 2022, which decently emulates the Jaguar
hadrware for the first time and was included on the Atari
50 Game Compilation, will open up a better opportunity
for developers to test their projects in the future. In any
case, the project shows that even 30 years after its release
and despite clipped claws, the Jaguar is far from finished.
Bill Rehbock: “To a large extent, it all came down to seek-
ing an audience that appreciated the in many ways supe-
rior tech and features of the Jaguar. Given that games are
still being released nowadays, there is at least some truth
to that notion.” Some people will just keep continuing to
DO THE MATH.

312 https://www.retrovideogamer.co.uk/rvg-interviews-john-
mathieson

304

305

EPILOGUE

Most long term ex-Atari em-
ployees are snapped up almost
immediately upon leaving At-
ari. They are considered to be
among the very best in the busi-
ness.

Dana Jacobsen 9 y)

306

When the Jaguar went down, there was a lot of bitter-
ness and cynicism towards Atari. Gil Gulick explained

in Silicon Times Report issue from 01.12.1995: “The
Atari Jaguar deserves to be put down. While the Jaguar
may be the cheapest of the next generation systems, it is
certainly not the best buy. It is the Yugo of video game
systems. How many times has Atari made EGM (or any
other magazine) look bad by giving them release dates
Atari knew were false? Take the Jag CD for example. The
only reason that EGM would print that the Jag CD would
be available for or shortly after the ‘94 Christmas season,
would be that Atari told them, and us, that that was when
the system would be released. I believe that Atari knew
that was impossible, but released that date anyway. And
how many Atari press releases have stated 100 games by
(insert date here.) Well, by the end of ‘95 the Jaguar still
doesn‘t have 100 games. So, is it any wonder the maga-
zines are cynical towards Atari? The Jaguar is pounded
by nearly every magazine on the market. And for good
reason. If you are happy with the way Atari has handled
the Jaguar, you need to set your standards a little higher.”
Editor Ralph F. Mariano summed it up in that same issue
like this: “The Tramiels tried to do it ‘on the cheap’ and
with somebody else‘s dime and blew it!” But regardless
of what people may have thought about Atari’s manage-
ment and how the console was handled, everyone seemed
to agree on one thing behind the Jaguar that was really
amazing: the people who really tried to make a difference.
Dana Jacobsen found perhaps the best words for this
when explaining in the same issue of ST-Report: “It now
seems that the majority of the Silicon Valley companies
realize the stress and extreme pressure people working at
Atari under the Tramiels must endure. As such, most long

307

term ex-Atari employees are snapped up almost immedi-
ately upon leaving Atari. They are considered to be among
the very best in the business. After all, anybody who can
endure in the ‘Katzenjammer Day Care Center’ can not
only work out well anywhere, they will no doubt, prove to
be exceptionally good employees and top producers.” So
where are some of them now?

Mike Beaton left Rebellion in 1996 to join Manic Media
and continued to work on GPU-based 3D graphics en-
gines, this time for PC and Sega Saturn, amongst others.
He got his PhD in Philosophy of Cognitive Science at the
University of Sussex, Brighton, and went on to work as
Senior Software Engineer at the Graduate Recruitment
Bureau.

Chris Brunning, who coded Supercross 3D, stayed

with Tiertex for 13 years until 2001. He went on to work
for game studios like Codemasters and Crytek, where he
worked as Technical Manager on the Cryengine. After
more than seven years at Amazon Web Services as Senior
Technical Program Manager, he joined Riot Games in May
2022 in the same position.

Wiley Evans left Atari in 1994 to join Sega as Audio Sup-
port Engineer and went on to work for GameTek, Leap-
Frog, Lucasfilm and 3D Robotics amongst others. Since
2021, he works as Senior Software Engineer with Disney
Streaming.

James “Purple” Hampton left Atari in 1995 and went
on to work for Rocket Science Games, LeapFrog and Cy-
clone Studios, amongst others, as well as for Shockwave.

308

Since 2008, he is self-employed as independent consul-
tant and offers production and design work for game
projects in development.

Raphael Lemoine stayed with Brainstorm for nearly
twelve years where he ported numerous multimedia
applications over from Windows to Macintosh, devel-
oped browser plug-ins, before joining Parrot Software as
Software Engineer, where he was in charge of the design
& development of the graphical portion of applications,
graphic engines and image codecs. Since 2012, he is self-
employed and continues to work as Software Engineer in
Research and Development on numerous projects.

John Mathieson, after leaving Atari in 1995, started
working with a small start-up called VM Labs that carried
on the legacy of the Jaguar technically in a way. As the
fourth employee there, he led the system architecture and
designed and brought this device to production. He also
led a software team that delivered production DVD player
software to Toshiba and Samsung, who also sold the hard-
ware: Nuon DVD players that could play games as well. A
highly innovative idea which Sony, as it should turn out,
would be doing more prominently with their PlaySta-
tion 2. He then went on to design two generations of the
NForce chip-set at NVIDIA, created a low-power video
decoder used in the Tegra technology and was long-time
Director of Mobile Systems Architecture before his cur-
rent position at NVIDIA, Director of Automotive Product
Architecture.

Jeff Minter went on to work for VM Labs, for which he
created Tempest 3000 — another torch carried on from

309

the Jaguar legacy — as well as a new version of his Virtual
Light Machine, first introduced on the Jaguar CD. With
his own company Llamasoft, he went on to develop and
produce the games he liked like Gridrunner++, Space
Giraffe, created a visualizer for Microsoft’s XBOX 360 and
was responsible for Tempest 4000, released by Atari SA.
Most recently, he worked on a reimagined version of the
1982 Atari arcade prototype Akka Arrh.

Bill Rehbock went on to work for Sony Computer Enter-
tainment America as Vice President R&D and Developer
Support. There, he headed the developer support engi-
neering group and documentation group, development
system licensing/sales, as well as the peripherals licensing
program for PlayStation. He was responsible for the major
rewrite of the technical documentation for the console and
delivery of the documentation in an electronic searchable
format for the first time. Like Mathieson, he got into VM
Labs and then into NVIDIA, being responsible for Content
Marketing and Content Development in both companies.
In 2019, he co-founded Curve Reality, set on developing a
gaming console that supports TVs, monitors, virtual and
augmented reality.

Laury Scott went on to work with JTS Corporation after
the merger with Atari as Vice President Materials, being
responsible for all purchasing supporting the local en-
gineering requirements and domestically sourced com-
ponents for the JTS factory in Madras, India, ensuring
adequate supplies of Heads and Media to support produc-
tion and responsibility for all semiconductors. With his
experience with and understanding of the Asian market,
he went on to work for other companies as Managing Di-

310

rector and Vice President for Asian Operations. Today, he
works as a consultant, helping clients to source products
in Asia.

Darryl Still left Atari in 1996 and went on to work for
Electronic Arts as Affiliate Labels Manager for labels like
Accolade, Melbourne House and Novalogic, and then
NVIDIA as Developer Relations Director, amongst other
companies. He is co-founder and CEO of KISS Publish-
ing, a full management agency that specialises in digital
distribution, helping game companies to put their games
onto major digital platforms.

Faran Thomason, who had produced NBA Jam, Bubsy,
Baldies, Supercross 3D and several Lynx titles, stayed on
board with Atari until 1996. Afterwards, he went on to
work for SegaSoft and Nintendo among many other stu-
dios, being involved in games like Mickey Mouse: Magical
Mirror, Disney‘s Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse,
Bionic Commando or R-Type DX, before joining Jungle
Cat Studios in 2008, where he is still working as Executive
Producer and Senior Designer.

After Atari had merged with JTS, Sam, Garry and Leonard
Tramiel left the company and the electronics business
altogether. Jack Tramiel joined the board of directors of
JTS. The cash Atari brought in as result of the reverse
merger and then again when the brand was sold to Hasbro
did not help the struggeling harddrive company to sur-
vive. After JTS filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
on December 11 and went out of business the following
year, Jack Tramiel retired from the industry.

311

PRESS RELEASES

Atari Launches the Jaguar, a 64-bit Multi-Media
Game System

Sunnyvale, CA — June 3, 1993 — Atari Corp., the founder
of the video game industry and the creative force behind
some of the world’s best known titles, has announced the
launch of a revolutionary new multi-media entertainment
system, the ATARI JAGUAR. The launch will be support-
ed by aggressive advertising, promotion and marketing
efforts to be centered in the New York market in the Fall,
with a national roll-out of the product within one year.

The ATARI JAGUAR, housed in a futuristic casing, is

an interactive multi- media system based on an Atari-
designed proprietary 64-bit RISC processor. The 64-bit
system is four times the technology currently seen in

the market today. The ATARI JAGUAR features over 16
million colors in 24-bit true color graphics and produces
shaded 3-D polygons to be manipulated in a “real” world
in real time. The ATARI JAGUAR also has real time tex-
ture mapping and creates spectacular video effects.

The sound system is based on Atari’s proprietary, high-
speed, Digital Signal Processor dedicated to audio. The
audio is 16-bit stereo CD quality and processes simulta-
neous sources of audio data, allowing for very realistic
sounds, as well as human voices, which are essential for
future multi- media applications.

The ATARI JAGUAR is truly expandable and will include
a 32-bit expansion port which allows for future connec-
tion into cable and telephone networks, as well as a digital
signal processing port for modem use and connection to

313

digital audio peripherals such as DAT players.

The unit will also have a compact disc peripheral, which
will be double-speed and will play regular CD audio, CD +
G (Karaoke), and Kodak’s new Photo-CD.

Currently, there are multiple software titles in develop-
ment, which will be available on MegaCart™. Atari,
known for such groundbreaking 3-D titles as Battlezone
2000®, and Tempest 2000®,, will issue spectacular new
versions for the ATARI JAGUAR. New 3-D game titles
will include Cybermorph®,, Alien vs. Predator®, Jaguar
Formula One Racing™ and many more. Atari will license
third party publishers to join the Jaguar family.

“The ATARI JAGUAR system will revolutionize the state
of home entertainment as we see it today,” said Sam
Tramiel, president of Atari. “The idea of a 64-bit system is
earthshattering and kids and adults will be amazed at both
the imagery and manipulative capabilities. And we are
proud that our entry into the multi-media entertainment
category will be fully made in America.”

The ATARI JAGUAR will retail for approximately $200
and will be available nationwide next year. The ATARI
JAGUAR packaged unit will include one software experi-
ence and a Power Pad® Controller with a ten-key pad,
and other special features.

Atari Corp. manufactures and markets personal computers and video
games for the home, office and educational marketplaces throughout the
world. Atari headquarters are located at 1196 Borregas Ave., Sunnyvale,
CA 94089.

314

Atari inks $500 million contract with IBM
(28.06.1993)

Sunnyvale, CA — June 28, 1993 — Atari Corp. announced
today that it has contracted with the IBM Corp.‘s Char-
lotte, N.C., facility to manufacture the Atari Jaguar, Atari‘s
new 64-bit multimedia entertainment system.

IBM‘s multi-year contract is valued at $500 million. The
Atari Jaguar, to be made in the United States, is an inter-
active multimedia entertainment system which features
over 16 million colors in 24-bit true color graphics and
produces shaded 3-D polygons for manipulation in a “real
world“ in real time. A 32-bit expansion port will allow

for future connection into cable and telephone networks,
a digital signal processing port for modem usage and con-
nection to digital audio peripherals. The Jaguar will also
feature a double-speed compact disc peripheral.

» This system is clearly the wave of the future,“ said Sam
Tramiel, president of Atari. Because the Jaguar will
feature such an array of visual and audio special effects,
we wanted to work with a premier company that we are
confident can manufacture the quality product we have
developed.“

The Charlotte-based IBM plant, which for 15 years has
manufactured and developed products only for other IBM
businesses, just recently began working with outside com-
panies to meet their production needs. The Atari Jaguar
project represents one of IBM‘s first entries into manufac-
turing for the mass consumer electronics market.

315

“This is a wonderful opportunity to work with Atari and
their new system,” said Herbert L. Watkins, director of
Application Solutions manufacturing at IBM Charlotte.
»Everyone expects IBM to manufacture complex informa-
tion technology products, and with this, we'll show that we
can competitively build a sophisticated consumer prod-

“

uct.

In addition to assembling the Jaguar, IBM will be respon-
sible for the component sourcing, quality testing, packag-
ing and distribution. The Jaguar, announced on June 3,

is based on an Atari-designed proprietary 64-bit RISC
processor that features four times the technology cur-
rently seen in the marketplace today. The sound system

is based on Atari‘s proprietary, high-speed, Digital Signal
Processor dedicated to audio which can produce CD-qual-
ity sound.

The Atari Jaguar will be available on a limited basis in the
fall, focusing on the New York market. A national roll-out
is expected next year, and the Jaguar will retail for ap-
proximately $200.

The IBM Corp.‘s Charlotte facility manufactures and develops for IBM
and other companies a wide variety of products, such as banking sys-
tems, automotive diagnostic systems and electronic circuit boards. The
site includes 2.3 million square feet of work space on a 1,200-acre site.
Its address is 1001 W.T. Harris Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28257.

316

Atari shareholders reject reverse stock split

Sunnyvale, CA — June 28, 1993 — Atari Corp. announced
today the results of its annual meeting held on June 25,
1993, in Sunnyvale.

In view of the current trading value of the common stock,
the board of directors recommended that the shareholders
vote against the one for 10 reverse stock split. The share-
holders voted against the proposal. Therefore, no reverse
stock split will occur.

In addition, Sam Tramiel, president, demonstrated game
software on the company‘s new multi-media entertain-
ment system called the Atari Jaguar.

CA 94089.

317

The Atari Jaguar

“In creating our 3DO technology, we aimed for a re-
ally big jump in colors and animation performance. You
can‘t establish a standard if another manufacturer has a
consumer device that‘s going to be better than yours next
year. You have to provide a performance level that puts
the stake way out there... Then people don‘t bother to
challenge it.“

Trip Hawkins, President & CEO, 3DO

Sunnyvale, CA — August 18, 1993 — Atari Corporation is
aggressively taking command of the consumer electronics
market with the introduction of the Atari Jaguar this Fall.
»We believe that we havetaken a more substantial jump
than 3DO has in bringing a better and more affordable
entertainment experience to the consumer market,“ said
Sam Tramiel, president of Atari.

While the spotlight has been shining brightly on the latest
multimedia craze, Atari Corporation has emerged with
the ultimate interactive home entertainment system: The
64-bit Atari Jaguar. At around $200, the 64-bit Jaguar
outperforms the $700 32-bit 3DO system by a factor of 2.

Consumers will see the difference in the Jaguar‘s vivid
screen imagery, most notably featuring over 16 million
colors (16,777,216 to be exact) in 32-bit true color graph-
ics. The Jaguar produces 3D polygons for manipulation
in a 3D world in real time. Animation capabilities are in
excess of 850 million pixels per second, creating supe-
rior special effects and real time texture mapping. Us-
ing 55 MIPS, speed and motion are unequaled with no

318

constraints as to how fast or restricted screen objects can
move.

“The imagery is something that needs to be seen to be
believed,“ said Sam Tramiel, president of Atari. ,. Imagery
is one thing, but wait until you see how you can interact
with these images.”

The Jaguar has full three-dimensional capabilities, with
three-dimensional models that can rotate, be wildly dis-
torted and even be texture mapped. Lighting sources can
be defined so that objects are illuminated appropriately
and at differing intensities, depending on the light inten-
sity and its distance. With the full 16 megabits of system
RAM available for game usage i.e., no needless operating
system overhead, speed will be superior to other consum-
er entertainment experiences.

The Jaguar‘s sound system is based on Atari‘s proprietary,
high speed Digital Signal Processor, with 16-bit stereo CD
quality sound output. This allows for extremely realistic
sounds, including human voices, cars racing, jets soaring,
worlds colliding, and more. The Jaguar‘s synthesizer is
used to create limitless boundaries in special effect sounds
and the dramatic use of music. Fidelity is far beyond coin
operated quality sound.

As a true multimedia platform, future applications for the
Jaguar‘s 32-bit expansion port include connections into
cable and telephone networks; a digital signal proces-

sor port for modem use and connection to digital audio
peripherals such as DAT players. The Jaguar CD periph-
eral is a most anticipated feature, with a fast dual speed

319

drive that can output data continuously at a rate of 350K
bytes per second, or run at normal audio rates of 175K

per second. As well as being the repository for almost 700
megabytes of video game storage, the Jaguar CD Module
is also being designed to interface with audio CD, Karaoke
CD, CD+Graphics and optional Kodak Photo CD. Atari
also plans to release an MPEG 2 cartridge which will allow
users to play full length motion pictures from CD.

With the Jaguar CD-ROM drive comes the ability to de-
liver full-screen, full-color, full-motion video. Jaguar uses
a video decompression system licensed from SuperMac
Technologies called CinePaké. The system permits over
sixty minutes of video to be stored on a single compact
disk (sic) and allows a game to use these video sequences
at 30 frames a second. The result of this combination of
technologies is to provide movie quality pictures that may
be overlaid on the screen with computer generated graph-
ics if the game demands it.

Also included with the game is a high performance, er-
gonomically designed, Controller with Joypad, three fire
buttons, Pause, Option, and a 12 key keypad with game
specific overlays.

IBM Corporation‘s Charlotte, North Carolina, facility

will manufacture the Jaguar. They will be responsible for

component sourcing, assembling, quality testing, packag-
ing, and distribution of the Jaguar, which will be made in

the United States. This fall, the Jaguar will be introduced

into the New York and San Francisco markets followed by
a national roll-out next year.

320

“As an American company we are in support of utilizing
domestic manufacturing,” said Tramiel. “We are proud
that the Jaguar is made in the U.S.A.”

321

Atari announces first Jaguar Developers

Sunnyvale, CA — September 24, 1993 — Atari Corp. Friday
announced its initial list of developers for the Atari Jaguar
64-bit Interactive Multimedia system.

Since July, 20 developers have signed license agreements
to publish game titles for Jaguar. Additional high-profile
developers and publishers are expected to be announced
in the coming weeks.

“Developer response to Jaguar has been overwhelming

— we've accomplished what we set out to do by attracting
the industry‘s top developers,” said Sam Tramiel, presi-
dent of Atari. ,, The tremendous power of Jaguar removes
the programming barriers that exist on all other gaming
platforms, allowing developers to focus their energy and
imagination on creating truly revolutionary video games.
The technological prowess of our developers coupled with
Atari‘s aggressive marketing and comprehensive devel-
oper support program will create a new industry standard
for multimedia performance.“

The developer list includes:
Anco Software Ltd.

Maxis Software

Telegames

Beyond Games Inc.
Microids

Tiertex Ltd.

Dimension Technologies
Midnight Software Inc.
Titus

322

Eurosoft

Ocean Software Ltd.
Tradewest

High Voltage Software
Rebellion Software Ltd.
Trimark Interactive
Krisalis Software Ltd.
Retour 2048

U.S. Gold Ltd.

Loriciel S.A.

Silmarils

The strength of the Jaguar platform has attracted the
industry‘s premier developers, allowing them to immedi-
ately begin programming the industry‘s first 64-bit video
games. Comments include:

“We're excited about the reality of an advanced video
game system retailing for approximately $200 and deliv-
ering technology comparable or superior to announced
systems costing over three times as much. Atari pioneered
the video game industry — it's good to see them at the
forefront of innovation once again.“

-- Kelly Flock, executive vice president of Trimark Interac-
tive

“Kids, don‘t waste your Christmas money on something
else, this Cat is the new king of the video game jungle.“

-- Terry Grantham, president of Telegames Inc.
(Telegames will release ,,Ultimate Brain Games“ and
»European Soccer Challenge“ for Jaguar in the spring and
summer of 1994.)

323

“The 64-bit power of the Atari Jaguar allows us to move
light years beyond today‘s game standards.“

-- Kris N. Johnson, president of Beyond Games Inc.
(Beyond will release “Battlewheels“ for Jaguar in the sec-
ond quarter of 1994.)

The power of the Jaguar development environment allows
programmers to:

* Create the industry‘s first 64-bit video games

¢ Deliver unprecedented true-color graphics, stereo CD-
quality sound and animation speed

¢ Enjoy unsurpassed ease in creating real-time 3-D virtual
worlds

¢ Unleash programming creativity previously hampered by
the restrictions of all other gaming platforms

Atari Corp. manufactures and markets video games and personal
computers for the home, office, and educational marketplaces. The
Sunnyvale-based company manufactures Jaguar products in the United
States and is publicly traded on the American Stock Exchange under the

symbol ATC.

324

Atari‘s Jaguar Grabs Five Hot Accolade Titles

Sunnyvale, CA. — November 11, 1993 — Atari Corp. togeth-
er with Accolade Inc. of San Jose, Calif., a notable pub-
lisher and developer of Sega and Nintendo video games,
Thursday jointly announced a licensing agreement that
will enable Atari to bring five proven, hot titles from Ac-
colade to consumers on the new 64-bit Jaguar Interactive
Multimedia System by Fall 1994.

The new approach with the Jaguar by Atari brings faster,
smoother animation and enhanced sound and graphics to
these hit titles.

Commenting on the company’s decision to work with
Atari, Accolade‘s chairman, Alan R. Miller stated, “That
Atari Jaguar is definitely cool, new technology that is be-
ing introduced at a price point attractive to consumers.
We think Atari has a real shot at establishing Jaguar as a
successful system, and we want be part of

that effort.” The Accolade titles for Jaguar include:

Al Michaels Announces HardBall III — Built on the repu-
tation of the best selling HardBall series of computer and
video games, Al Michaels Announces HardBall III features
a full 162 game season, 26 accurately rendered stadiums
and the Emmy award winning commentary of Al Mi-
chaels.

Brett Hull Hockey — This action-packed simulation fea-
tures input from and the digitized skating of the NHL's
most popular All-Star player, Brett Hull. Several modes of
play are offered including exhibition game, 11 game short

325

season, 42 game half season and an 84 game full season
offered by no other hockey simulation game.

Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind — The
world‘s supply of yarnballs is seriously threatened in one
of the year’s most popular video games, and it is up to
Bubsy Bobcat, “a hero for cryin‘ out loud!” to put a stop to
the yarnball plundering Woolies.

Charles Barkley Basketball — With a jump start, court-
time integrates Barkley‘s fast-breaking, intimidating,
whatever-it-takes-to-win playing style into an intense
basketball game.

Jack Nicklaus‘ Power Challenge Golf — The Golfer of the
Century is just one of four fully-digitized golfers in this
award winning game that features two Nicklaus designed
golf courses, English Turn Golf Club in New Orleans and
Sherwood Country Club in California.

“Accolade’‘s list of titles adds significantly to the Jaguar
product line,“ said Sam Tramiel, president and chief ex-
ecutive officer of Atari. “Accolade’‘s proven titles enhanced
by the 64-bit power of Jaguar will enrich the Jaguar
player's library of video games with life-like sports adven-
tures and real-time 3D animated characters that speak.
The Accolade titles help us to attain our goal of delivering
a high quality selection of Jaguar titles that will entertain
allage groups.“

Accolade is a leading worldwide publisher, developer and

distributor of entertainment software for PC compatible computers and
leading video game machines, including the Super Nintendo Entertain-
ment System, Nintendo, Gameboy and Sega Genesis.

326

Atari Corp. manufactures and markets video games and personal com-
puters for the home, office and educational marketplaces. The Sunny-
vale-based company manufactures Jaguar in the United States under
contract with IBM.

327

Atari Jaguar Grabs Top Awards at CES

Sunnyvale, CA — January 9, 1994 — Atari Corp. announced
today that the Atari Jaguar 64-bit interactive multime-
dia game system has been named the industry‘s “Best
New Game System” (VideoGames Magazine), “Best New
Hardware System” (Game Informer) and “1993 Techni-
cal Achievement of the Year” (DieHard GameFan). The
awards were presented last week at the Winter Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In addition, VideoGames
Magazine selected a Jaguar advertisement as “1993's Best
Print Ad” and Electronic Games voted Jaguar‘s newest
software title, “Tempest 2000,” the “Best Game of the
Show.”

“We are excited the industry‘s premier publications have
recognized Jaguar,” said Sam Tramiel, president of Atari.
“We developed Jaguar's 64-bit technology to raise the
standard for game system performance, making Jaguar
the most powerful, affordable system on the market. It is
an honor to know that the leading trade magazines and
their readers recognize our efforts.”

“We created the ‘Best New Game System’ award specifi-
cally for Jaguar,” said Chris Gore, editor of VideoGames
Magazine. “Atari developed a new game system with
innovative hardware and software that delivers a per-
formance level currently not available in the market at a
price people can afford. It eclipses 3DO as the best bang
for your buck.”

On Game Informer‘s decision to vote Jaguar “Best New
Hardware System,” Editor Andy McNamara said, “With

328

enough raw processing power to take out the big boys, At-
ari has a winner on its hands. Of course, it will need great
software, but if games like the pack-in Cybermorph set the
standard, Atari is definitely on its way.”

Atari Jaguar is the world‘s first 64-bit interactive multi-
media home entertainment system and is the only video
game system manufactured in the United States. The
award-winning “Tempest 2000” is expected to hit stores
in March. Also, Atari expects to deliver its Jaguar CD-pe-
ripheral mid-year at a suggested retail price of $200.

[For the UK press release, dated January 14, 1994, Dar-
ryl Still added: ]

The Promise Delivered

Atari first announced retail availability of Jaguar back in
June 1993, promising deliveries to key US markets and
Northern Europe outlets in the run-up to Christmas. This
promise was delivered to thousands of enthusiasts at-
tracted by the power of 64-bit technology, Jaguar‘s rich,
vibrant graphics and CD-quality digital stereo sound.

Atari plan to extend national and international distri-
bution of Jaguar in the first half of 1994, following the
phenomenal success of the timely launch of the machine
in the New York and San Francisco markets before Christ-
mas. Over 20,000 Jaguar systems sold out within

three weeks!

“We look forward to extending Jaguar‘s success in the
New York and San Francisco markets by implementing
a nationwide roll-out of the product in 1994,” said Sam

329

Tramiel, president of Atari. What is especially rewarding
is customer response to Jaguar — it’s great to see

how people react to the system. We are committed to
making Jaguar the world‘s number one game platform
and this is a powerful start.“

Demand at Record levels

In a survey carried out by Electronic Gaming Monthly,
the leading consumer games title, with 1.2 million read-
ers, most respondents declared that they were planning to
buy a Jaguar system than any other video games machine.
Simply put, consumers recognize that Atari have created a
monster success. After more than three years in develop-
ment, the company has delivered an interactive entertain-
ment system so revolutionary, nothing can stand in its
way.

Software titles achieve best ever scores

Alongside Jaguar‘s introduction, Atari is shipping its first
four software titles: Cybermorph (delivered with each sys-
tem), Raiden, Evolution Dino-Dudes and Crescent Galaxy.
Already, Jaguar software titles are attracting unprecedent-
ed reviews in games magazines around the world. In the
US, DieHard GameFan (December ‘93) voted Cybermorph
their game of the month, awarding this new title an
unbelievable 99%. “This is such a great game. The color

is phenomenal, the control is the best I have ever felt and
it will take weeks to beat. Each level is like a mini-game

in itself.” GamePro (January ‘94) rates Crescent Galaxy
“as witnessing a possible new generation of graphics” and
Cybermorph as “one giant polygon flight-fest that offer a
surprising amount of strategy and action in a well crafted
package.”

330

In the UK, The Edge (January “94) says about Cyber-
morph “Best of all, Cybermorph is a fine game in its own
right, and carries with it the promise of Jaguar games to
come” and in Germany Mega Fun has awarded Cyber-
morph its Gold game Award in its February ‘94 issue.

New titles seen at CES

A selection of the next generation of titles to be introduced
by Atari for Jaguar were shown at CES -— Alien v Predator,
an advanced version of this title beats all expectations in
terms of quality and reality effects. Without question, one
of the most important new titles of the year.

Checkered Flag — this virtual racing look-alike Formula 1
game now features rain and foggy weather conditions for
heightened game-play.

Tempest 2000 — a completely renewed version of this
famous best seller is nearly finished for release.

Kasumi Ninja — a playable version of this fighting game
featuring 91 martial arts movements.

Brutal Sports Football — an all action game whose set of
rules is no rules!!!

Euro Soccer Challenge — this true color graphics product
will simulate, in its final version, an expanded season and

play-off format of the 170 actual teams.

Double Dragon and Club Drive Early versions were dem-
onstrated.

331

More and more software houses are signing up for Jaguar
development, in addition to the 36 companies already an-
nounced. Further announcements will be made shortly.

Atari Corp. manufactures and markets 64-bit interactive multimedia en-
tertainment systems, video games and personal computers for the home,
office and educational marketplaces. The Sunnyvale-based company

manufactures the Jaguar products in the United States.

332

Atari Announces Total of 86 Developers, Publish-
ers and Licensees for Jaguar

48 New Partners Include Creators and Publishers of Drag-
on‘s Lair, Mortal Kombat, Populous, Pro-Sports Hockey
and Wolfenstein 3D

Sunnyvale, CA. — March 7, 1994 — Atari Corporation an-
nounced today that its award-winning Jaguar 64-bit game
system has attracted 86 top developers, publishers and
licensees since its introduction in November 1993.

Among the 48 new partners announced today are Ready-
Soft Incorporated, publisher of Dragon‘s Lair, Dragon‘s
Lair II and Space Ace; Bullfrog Productions Limited,
developer of Populous and Powermonger; Imagineer,
publisher of Wolfenstein 3D (SNES); Jaleco, a leading
manufacturer of arcade games and home video games
including Super Bases Loaded and Pro-Sport Hockey; and
Sculptured Software, developer of Mortal Kombat for Ac-
claim.

“The innovative technology unleashed by Jaguar chal-
lenges us to change our approach to developing software,”
said Glen Williams, technical director, Williams Brothers
Development, one of the newly signed software develop-
ers. “With Jaguar, game developing is no longer a matter
of working within the machine's capabilities, but of living
up to them.”

Since January 1, 1994, Atari has signed 48 new partners.
These are:

333

Accent Media Productions, Anthill Industries, (ASG) All
Systems Go, Argonaut Software Ltd., Audio-Visual Magic,
Bethesda Softworks, Bjorn Joos/Kris Van Lier, Black
Scorpion Software, Borta & Associates, Bullfrog Produc-
tions Ltd., Clearwater Software, Computer Music Consult-
ing, Cybervision, CyberWare, Delta Music Systems Inc.,
Domark Group Ltd., DTMC, Duncan Brown, Elite, E-On,
EZ Score Software Inc., GameTec Inc., Genus Microcom-
puting Inc., H2O Design Corp., HiSoft, ICD, Imagineer
Company Ltd., Jaleco, Limelight Media Inc., Manley &
Associates Inc., NMS Software Ltd., Photosurrealism,
PEXIS INTERACTIVE, ReadySoft Incorporated, Rest En-
ergy, Sculptured Software Inc., Software Creations, Team
Infinity, Team 17 Software Ltd., Technation Digital World,
Techtonics, Teque London Ltd., Thrustmaster, V-Reel,
Virtual Xperience, Visual Concepts, Williams Brothers,
WMS Industries.

“We are pleased the industry‘s most innovative, suc-
cessful software companies continue to join the Jaguar
team,” said Sam Tramiel, president of Atari. “Jaguar is
the world‘s most powerful multimedia video game system.
Consequently, this platform offers leading developers and
publishers unprecedented creative and commercial op-
portunities.”

“Atari has used cutting-edge technology to push Jaguar‘s
system architecture beyond the industry‘s next natural
stage and leaped ahead of its competitors in the process,”
said Lou Viveros, president of V-Reel and Viveros and
Associates, a leading video game consulting firm. “Our
games will require creativity and flexibility in the
development process and outstanding system perfor-

334

mance during game play. Consequently, the decision to
develop for Jaguar was an easy one.”

V-Reel will develop and market Arena Football exclusively
for Jaguar. This represents the first license of the Arena
Football League for home video game systems. V-Reel
also plans to develop Horrorscope, a Jaguar fighting game
based on the 12 characters of the Zodiac.

Atari Jaguar is the world‘s first 64-bit interactive multi-
media home entertainment system and is the only video
game system manufactured in the United States. Jag-
uar was recently named the industry‘s “Best New Game
System” (VideoGames Magazine), “Best New Hardware
System” (Game Informer), and “1993 Technical Achieve-
ment of the Year” (Die Hard Game Fan). Atari expects to
deliver its Jaguar CD-peripheral mid-year at a suggested
retail price of $200.

Atari Corporation, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., manufactures and markets

64-bit interactive multimedia entertainment systems, video games and

personal computers for the home, office and educational marketplaces.

335

ICD Announces First Jaguar Hardware Add-On

Rockford, IL — March 7, 1994 — Black Cat Design, a de-
signer of computer peripherals and accessories, and ICD,
today announced Cat Box, the complete interface adapter
for the Atari Jaguar 64-bit game system.

Cat Box plugs directly into the AV/DSP ports on the back
of the Jaguar. Its custom case measures just 6 x 1.5 x1
inches and perfectly accents the sleek Jaguar design. Cat
Box provides all of the standard connections that Jaguar
customers desire. Standard ports include: S-Video, Com-
posite Video, Left & Right Audio Out, Dual Stereo Head-
phones, Analog RGB Video, RS-232, ComLynx, and DSP.
All connectors are “industry standard”.

Standards are a big part of Cat Box and connectivity is the
key. The RS-232 port will connect to standard modems.
The ComLynx port will join other Jaguar and Lynx game
systems for multi-player games and other networking
ideas. Black Cat Design is actively working with game
developers to ensure support for these ports.

An imaginative, well thought out design includes flexibili-
ty for the future. Internal expansion connectors for future
add-in cards ensure that Cat Box will be as useful then as
it is now. Future products under consideration include a
MIDI interface and an internal modem.

ICD has licensed Cat Box from Black Cat Design for exclu-
sive world-wide distribution.

Thomas Harker, president of ICD, explained, “This prod-

336

uct is an unbelievable value. I wouldn't be surprised if all
Jaguar owners buy a Cat Box. My family is really thankful
for the headphone jacks when our twin boys are playing
Raiden. Finally, peace and quiet again in the game room.
The boys can‘t wait for the next generation of multi-player
games to arrive. Imagine, dual Jaguars head to head. Cat
Box will help make this possible. It makes so much sense,
I don't know why it wasn‘t done before.”

The Cat Box will begin shipping early next quarter at an
MSRP of $49.95. ICD is taking orders now with shipments
expected in May.

For further information, contact ICD Public Relations in the United
States by phone (815) 968-2228 extension 222 or fax (815) 968-6888.

Cat Box is a trademark of Black Cat Design. Other trademarks are those

of their respective holders.

337

Atari Corp. Announces Fourth Quarter and 1993
Results and Additional Equity Investment by
Time-Warner

Sunnyvale, CA — March 23, 1994 — Atari Corp. today
reported results of operations for the fourth quarter and
year ended Dec. 31, 1993. Net sales for the fourth quarter
1993 were $8.5 million as compared to $25.5 million for
the same quarter 1992. For the fourth quarter of 1993
Atari incurred a net loss of $22.6 million as compared to
a net loss of $21.9 million in the same quarter in 1992.

In the fourth quarter of 1993 the Company took charges
which included the writedown of $12.1 million in inven-
tory and other items and $6.0 million for restructuring
charges associated with the completion of the company’s
consolidation of its European operations and closure of
its Australian subsidiary. For the year 1993 the Company
reported sales of $28.8 million as compared to $127.3
million in 1992. For 1993, the Company incurred a loss of
$48.9 million as compared to $73.6 million for 1992.

Commenting on the results, Sam Tramiel, president of
Atari, said, “While we are disappointed in the magnitude
of our losses in the fourth quarter and 1993 as a whole, we
believe that we have substantially completed our transi-
tion from our older technology products and the consoli-
dation of our worldwide operations. In the fourth quarter
of 1993, we successfully launched the Atari Jaguar, the
64-bit interactive multimedia entertainment system. The
intense game, Tempest 2000 for the Atari Jaguar, ships
this week and was recently awarded “Game of the Month”
by Die Hard Game Fan and Electronic Gaming Monthly
magazines. In addition to the initial launch markets of

338

New York and San Francisco, we have now introduced
Jaguar in Los Angeles, and as availability of Jaguar hard-
ware and software increases, we will broaden our distribu-
tion throughout the United States. As a result of increased
spending for marketing activities and until such time as
shipments of Jaguar products are made in substantial
volume, we do not expect to achieve profitability.“

Time Warner Investment

In addition, Atari Corp. entered into an agreement to sell
1.5 million shares of its common stock to Time Warner
Inc. at a price of $8.50 per share for an aggregate invest-
ment of $12.8 million. The transaction would increase
Time Warner‘s interest in Atari Corp. from approximately
25% to 27%. The agreement is subject to regulatory
clearance and other formalities of closing. Sam Tramiel
said, “We welcome the additional investment by Time
Warner. These funds along with our existing cash balanc-
es will be used to expand Jaguar throughout the United
States.”

339

Atari Corporation And Nintendo Reach Settle-
ment In Patent Infringement Case

Sunnyvale, CA — March 24, 1994 — Atari Corporation
today reported that Nintendo of America, Inc. and At-

ari Corporation have settled litigation concerning Atari
Corporation‘s ‘114 Patent. The ‘114 Patent relates to hori-
zontal scrolling in video games. The ‘114 Patent is part of
Atari Corporation‘s portfolio of pioneering patents in the
computer and video game field. For a cash payment, Atari
Corporation granted Nintendo a license to certain patents
in Atari Corporation‘s portfolio. The License does not
include Atari Corporation‘s patents related to LYNX or
patents pending relating to the JAGUAR technology.

Sam Tramiel, President of Atari Corporation, stated
“This is an important settlement that will hopefully lead
to resolution of other patent infringement claims.” The
‘114 Patent and two other Atari Corporation patents are
the subject of litigation between Atari Corporation and
Sega which is pending in the United States District Court,
Northern District of California.

340

Atari selects Wavefront‘s Gameware as World-
wide Game Development Software for Jaguar
Systems

Santa Barbara, CA. — April 25, 1994 — Wavefront Tech-
nologies, Inc. and Atari Corporation have announced a
worldwide agreement making Wavefront’s GameWare the
exclusive game graphics and animation development soft-
ware for the Atari Jaguar system. The GameWare family

is a comprehensive set of 2D and 3D tools that incorporate
a wide range of capabilities specifically geared towards
game authoring and development needs.

Under the terms of the agreement, Atari will itself use
GameWare for internal content creation and will advise
third-party developers to use GameWare as the image and
geometry authoring tool for the new 64-bit Jaguar game
system. Wavefront in turn will provide special pricing to
Atari Authorized Developers wishing to purchase Game-
Ware licenses.

“Jaguar‘s performance and the realism delivered by
GameWare provide our developers with a significant
advantage in maximizing the capabilities and potential

of our 64-bit design,” said Bill Rehbock, vice president of
Software Business Development for Atari. “Visual realism
is central to Jaguar‘s capabilities and it has the rendering
speed and throughput to drive realistic character anima-
tion at a price point that is viable for the home market.”

“Based on our extensive evaluation, Wavefront's state-of-
the art game authoring tools are the best software for our
developers to really demonstrate the Jaguar‘s capabilities.

341

Wavefront‘s easy-to-use 3D animation and modeling tools
will help artists focus on creative, show-and-tell story
elements instead of the mechanics needed to implement
special effects.”

“The Atari Jaguar represents the first of the next genera-
tion game consoles that will revolutionize the industry
with its real-time 3D graphics capabilities,” said Bruce
Sinclair, electronic games marketing manager for Wave-
front. “Atari‘s selection of GameWare as its exclusive au-
thoring tool will showcase our product with the industry‘s
leading developers in creating some of the most visually
stunning games to date.”

GameWare is Wavefront's graphics software package tai-
lored to meet the specific needs of entertainment content
developers. GameWare runs on Silicon Graphics work-
stations and provides the graphics tools needed to create
games containing realistic 3D objects and terrain, 3D
synthetic actors with realistic motion and stunning special
effects.

GameWare can generate images and geometry suitable for
any game platform. An open architecture allows develop-
ers to integrate their existing software tools with Game-
Ware. Hyper Plug-ins available from Wavefront allow
enhanced functionality, including GameWare Composer
for 2D special effects and color reduction, and GameWare
Dynamation for creating special effects such as explo-
sions, fire, smoke and collisions.

Since its introduction at the Consumer Electronics Show
in January ‘94, GameWare has quickly been recognized

342

as the graphics tool of choice among leading-edge game
developers. Atari joins the rapidly growing list of gaming
companies using Wavefront software including: Acclaim,
Accolade, Arc Development, Argonaut Software, CAP-
COM, Core Design, Electronic Arts, The Learning Com-
pany, Midway Manufacturing, NAMCO, Ocean Software,
SEGA, SNK, Spectrum Holobyte, Taito, Tiertex, US Gold,
and Williams Entertainment.

Atari Jaguar is the world‘s first 64-bit interactive multi-
media home entertainment system and is the only video
game system manufactured in the United States. Jag-

uar was recently named the industry‘s industry‘s “Best
New Game System” (VideoGames Magazine), “Best New
Hardware System” (VideoGames Magazine), “Best New
Hardware System” (Game Informer) and “1993 Technical
Achievement of the Year” (DieHard GameFan).

Wavefront Technologies, Inc., founded in 1984, develops,
markets and supports a complete line of workstation-
based three-dimensional and two-dimensional computer
graphics imaging and animation software products for
professional users in the entertainment and industrial
markets. The Company‘s entertainment customers use
the software to create images and special effects for mov-
ies, television programming, advertising and electronic
games. The Company‘s industrial customers use the
software to create images for enhancing and marketing
products, visualization of design appearance and function,
presentation of complex project concepts and illustra-
tion of engineering and scientific phenomena that would
otherwise be difficult to understand.

343,

Atari and Sigma Designs partner to deliver Jaguar
for the PC

San Jose, CA — May 3, 1994 — Atari Corporation today an-
nounced that it has exclusively licensed Jaguar technology
to Sigma Designs to deliver PC cards incorporating the
award-winning Jaguar 64-bit technology with Sigma‘s
Reel-Magic™ full-motion video capabilities. This deal will
expand Jaguar‘s market reach by allowing more than 10
million users to play Jaguar software titles on their IBM-
compatible personal computers by year‘s end.

“Atari will once again jump ahead of the market by bring-
ing the world‘s most advanced game technology to a new
group of consumers in record time,” said Sam Tramiel,
president of Atari. “Knowing there would be great demand
for Jaguar on personal computers — we designed the
system to talk easily to the leading computer architectures
This has allowed us to move quickly to partner with Sigma
Designs to make this happen before Christmas.”

“We are pleased to join Atari in its mission to expand

the industry standards for video game play,” said Julien
Nguyen, Vice President of Engineering and Chief Techni-
cal Officer of Sigma Designs. “Jaguar‘s 64-bit technology
will be extremely attractive to the MPC customer base of
more than 10 million users. By combining Sigma‘s Moving
Picture Experts Group (MPEG) technology with Atari‘s
3D animation, we look forward to bringing the hottest
video game technology and software titles to the desktops
of users worldwide.”

Sigma Designs, headquartered in Fremont, Calif., is a

344

leading manufacturer of high-performance multimedia
computer products and document imaging display solu-
tions. With the the release of its ReelMagic MPEG control-
ler in October 1993, Sigma Designs redefined affordable
video playback for the PC. ReelMagic allows users to expe-
rience a new generation of realistic entertainment, educa-
tion, training, and business presentation software titles
with full-screen, full-motion video and CD-quality sound.
All Sigma Designs products are sold worldwide through a
network of dealers, distributors and system integrators.

Atari Jaguar is the world‘s first 64-bit interactive multi-
media home entertainment system and is the only video
game system manufactured in the United States. Jaguar,
the most powerful multimedia system available, was re-
cently named the industry‘s “Best New Game System”
(Video Games Magazine), “Best New Hardware System”
(Game Informer) and “1993 Technical Achievement of the
Year” (DieHard GameFan). Jaguar also recently was given
the European Computer Trade Show Award for “Best
Hardware of the Year.”

Atari Corporation, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., manufactures and markets

64-bit interactive multimedia entertainment systems, video games and

personal computers for the home, office and educational marketplaces.

345

Star Battle™ announced for Atari Jaguar

Chicago, IL — June 23, 1994 — Consumer Electronics
Show — a talented new design group called 4Play, today
announced their first title which will fully exploit Jaguar's
64-bit capabilities.

600 years in the future, several spacefaring races are
battling for domination of the galaxy. To avoid unneces-
sary loss of life and destruction, it is agreed that the best
warriors and military minds will be sent to a small unin-
habited quadrant of the galaxy to settle the score. Some of
the races have endured years of torment and oppression
and with the galaxy at stake, nothing short of eradication
of the enemy is acceptable.

Star Battle is a first person perspective game designed to
put fun back into gaming. Star Battle‘s multi-player action
allows head to head challengers over modem or network.
The Jaguar makes this possible with 64-bit power and
outstanding connectability.

Tom Harker, president of 4Play commented, “Our cus-
tom game tools afford no compromises. With advanced
features like a warp polygon engine, gouraud shading,
texture mapping, networking and modem support, Star
Battle will be setting new standards in excellence for a
long time to come.”

Look for Star Battle to be released on cartridge in the 4th
quarter. Star Battle is a trademark of 4Play. Other prod-
ucts named may be trademarks or registered trademarks
of their owning companies.

346

Argonne National Laboratory evaluates Jaguar
for Project

Argonne, IL — June 23, 1994 — Argonne National Labora-
tory, a Laboratory funded by the Department of Energy
(DOE), is evaluating the use of Atari‘s 64-bit multimedia
Jaguar technology as part of its work in the AMTEX
program‘s Demand Activated Manufacturing Architecture
(DAMA) project. The AMTEX program, the American
Textile Partnership, brings together the entire industry
involved in textile products, from fiber to retail, with the
National Laboratory system. It is a technology transfer
program intended to increase industrial competitiveness.
Argonne is tasked with evaluating technologies in the
broad area of Information Access Tools.

Argonne‘s exploratory studies of multimedia technology
are a direct response to the need to provide better and
broader access to computer generated information. Manu-
facturers such as Atari have been particularly successful

in providing visual interfaces to computer interactions.
These interface technologies can provide alternative meth-
ods for accessing the information highway, even displac-
ing the traditional computer keyboard. Retailers and small
manufacturers have little time to learn complex computer
systems. The DAMA project needs to find new ways for
these companies to take advantage of the electronic mar-
ket information being generated by the larger companies.
Using this information American companies‘ can use agile
manufacturing and fast response as the key to regaining a
competitive edge in the marketplace.

The Jaguar technology‘s ability to recreate realistic visual

347

images combined with its price performance make it a
natural vehicle to explore new interfacing concepts. The
same 64-bit technology that renders images at high speed
can display high-fidelity renderings of fashion lines at
slower speeds. One application area is business product
marketing, where small retailers can view the work of
American designers, accessing it via home entertainment
equipment. Another area being explored is a FAX-based
interface to DAMA for small businesses. The goal is to
eliminate the keyboard interface.

Technology transfer is very active at Argonne, “we are
looking for ways to utilize the research performed at
Argonne by combining it with the work done by industry”
said Peter Korp, Assistant Scientist at Argonne.

348

Atari® Celebrates 150+ Jaguar™ Licensees

Chicago, IL — June 23, 1994 — Consumer Electronics
Show — Atari Corporation announced today that the num-
ber of signed licensed developers for the Atari Jaguar has
surpassed 150. According to Mr. William Rehbock, Vice
President of Third Party Development for Atari Corpora-
tion, “Each signature represents another developer that

is serious about the desire to develop Jaguar compatible
peripherals or software. Although a few may be focused
on highly specialized applications, the majority are in the
business of dazzling video game players.”

“The newest list,” adds Mr. Rehbock, “includes names
such as 20th Century Fox Interactive, JVC Musical In-
dustries, Inc., Time-Warner Interactive and Electro Brain
Corp. These are exciting names to have shown support

in the way that they have. We welcome them and look
forward to accommodating their needs as they intensify
their Jaguar development interests with us.”

Names found among the recently inked pages include:
20th Centrury Fox Interactive, Acid Software, Alfaro
Corporation Limited, B.S.A., Bando Svenska AB, Beris,
BitMotion Software, Bizzare Computing, Brandlewood
Computers Ltd., Cannonball Software, Celebrity Systems
Inc., Condor Software, Cross Products Ltd., DAP Devel-
opments, Data Design, Denton Designs Ltd., Diskimage,
Electro Brain Corp., Electrom, Extreme, Factor 5, Flair
Software Ltd., Frankenstein Software, Funcom Produc-
tions a/s, Human Soft Ltd., i-SPACE, iTHINK Inc., JVC
Musical Industries Inc., Kungariket Multimedia, Lost in
Time Software, Malibu Interactive, Media Technology

349

Scandinavia, Merit Industries Inc., Michton Inc., Miracle
Designs, Nebulous Games, Neon-Buttner, Network 23
Software, NMS Software Ltd., Odyssey Software Inc.,
Orion Technologies Inc., Phoyx, Rage Software Ltd., Rain-
maker Software Inc., Riedel Software Prod., Scangames
Interactive, Selgus Limited, Shadowsoft Inc., Sigma De-
signs, Silmarils, Sinister Development, Soft Enterprises,
Softgold GmbH, Software 2000, Software Development
Systems, Spaceball Technologies Inc., Steinberg Soft-
und Hardware GmbH, Tantalus Entertainment, Tantalus
Incorporated, Twilight, Time-Warner Interactive, Visual
Sciences Ltd., Wave Quest Inc.

“Once again,” observes Mr. Sam Tramiel, President and
CEO of Atari Corporation, “as I check with our devel-

oper support people I find that they are assembling more
batches of Jaguar development packages. It is an extreme-
ly promising sight because these systems represent a lot
more consumer products in the months ahead. All of these
people are working hard and they sure are busy...”

“_..as they should be,” adds a smiling Mr. Tramiel.

The Atari Jaguar is the world's first 64-bit interactive mul-
timedia home entertainment system. The Atari Jaguar and
compatible software titles have been awarded multiple
awards for technical achievement, design and innovation.

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-

mark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks or

registered trademarks of their owning companies.

350

CatBox™ tames the Jaguar

Chicago, IL — June 23, 1994 — Consumer Electronics
Show — Black Cat Design, a designer of computer pe-
ripherals and accessories today announced CatBox and
CatBox+, feature-packed interface adapters for the Atari
Jaguar 64-bit game system.

CatBox plugs directly into the AV/DSP ports on the back
of the Jaguar. Its custom case measures just 6 x 2.5 x

1.25 inches and perfectly accents the sleek Jaguar design.
CatBox provides all of the standard connections that
Jaguar customers desire. Standard ports include: S-Video,
Composite Video, Left & Right Audio Out, Dual Stereo
Headphones, Analog RGB Video, RS-232, ComLynx, and
pass-through DSP. All connectors are “industry standard”.

Standards are a big part of CatBox and connectivity is the
key. The RS- 232 port will connect to standard modems.
The ComLynx port will join other Jaguar and Lynx game
systems for multi-player games and other networking
ideas. Black Cat Design is actively working with game
developers to ensure support for these ports.

CatBox+ offers two powerful new features in addition to
the standard CatBox features. Stereo headphone ampli-
fication with volume control provides a more powerful
sound. The new differential pair network uses standard
RJ-11 phone wiring to create a low cost networking system
which allows systems to be separated up to 300 feet.

An imaginative, well thought out design includes flexibil-
ity for the future. Internal expansion connectors for future

351

add-in cards ensure hat CatBox will be as useful then as
it is now. Future products under consideration include a
Midi interface and an internal modem.

Thomas Harker, president of Black Cat Design, explained,
“This product is an unbelievable value. I wouldn't be sur-
prised if all Jaguar owners buy a CatBox. My family is re-
ally thankful for the headphone jacks when our twin boys
are playing Raiden. Finally, peace and quiet again in the
game room. The boys can‘t wait for the next generation of
multi-player games to arrive. Imagine, dual Jaguars head
to head. CatBox will help make this possible. It makes so
much sense, I don‘t know why it wasn‘t done before.”

CatBox will begin shipping late this quarter at an MSRP of
$49.95. CatBox+ will have an MSRP of $69.95. ICD, Inc.,
a well known developer of Atari computer products will be
marketing CatBox. ICD is taking orders now with ship-
ments expected in August.

CatBox is a trademark of Black Cat Design. Other trademarks are those

of their respective holders.

352

Gamers play Jaguar™ on the telephone

Chicago, IL — June 23, 1994 — Consumer Electronics
Show -— Atari Corporation announced today that playing
Jaguar games with opponents over a single telephone line
will be a reality in the 4th quarter of 1994. New technol-
ogy, developed by Phylon Communications, Inc.; leaders
in advanced fax/modem/Vvoice technology, permits two
users to play Atari Jaguar video games against each other.
Utilizing the same phone line, they may speak to each
other as they play. The game experience is truely shared
by the two gamers although they may be miles apart from
each other.

The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator uses headsets for
the players to hear each other speak as well as listen to

the stereo benefits of the game being played. Users will
also have call waiting indications, both at local and remote
ends, to pause and resume a game due to an interrupting
call in the middle of a game. Thus, this product can be
enjoyed by the players without being a nuisance to others
in the home. “By offering our voice-plus-data technology
to leading OEMs and systems manufacturers, like Atari,
Phylon is pioneering multimedia communications tech-
nology on the dial-up network,” noted Dr. Hamdi El-Sassi,
President and CEO of Phylon.

The first games planned to exploit the features of the Jag-
uar Voice/Data Communicator are Doom™, Club Drive™
and Iron Soldier™.

“Reports I have been receiving from Jaguar owners is that
they are ready for this technology. We have it and we are

353

going to offer it this Christmas,” announced Mr. Sam Tra-
miel, President and CEO of Atari Corporation. “By review-
ing each game we have in development, we have been able
to make certain each one integrates every bit of power we
can put into it.”

The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator is compatible with
Atari Jaguar; the world‘s first and only 64-bit interactive
multimedia home entertainment system. The Atari Jaguar
and compatible software titles have been awarded multi-
ple awards for technical achievement, design and innova-
tion worldwide. The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator

is packed complete with stereo headset and is engineered
for user friendly, plug ‘n’ go operation. Future software
options will enable the Jaguar Voice/Data Communica-
tor to access existing and upcoming online services on the
Information SuperHighway.

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-

mark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks or

registered trademarks of their owning companies.

354

Jaguar™ CD-ROM under $200

Chicago, IL — June 23, 1994 — Consumer Electronics
Show — Atari Corporation announced today plans to

ship the anticipated CD-ROM to stores in ample time for
Christmas shopping. The CD-ROM is a hardware periph-
eral compatible with any Jaguar 64-bit system and will
sell for $199.95 (MSRP). It enables the Jaguar to play

a new generation of impeccable CD-based video games
and play audio compact discs. ROM-based software in
the CD-ROM allows the user to easily manipulate audio
tracks and numerous custom selections when playing
audio compact discs. The module includes state-of-the-art
technology to play the audio and video portions of CD+G
encoded discs. It also provides its own cartridge port so
some applications may use the cartridge and CD at the
same time.

Mr. Richard Miller, Vice President of Engineering for
Atari Corporation, observed, “Compact Discs offer well
over 700 Megabytes of raw data storage and many times
that number when the data is compressed. The massive
storage capacity of a CD provides enough data space to
incorporate complex digitized images, full motion video
sequences and CD-quality audio soundtracks into games.
These things are far from being fully utilized on home
platforms and the Jaguar is the perfect system to do just
that.”

Such complex images, sound and color are integrated
parts of the numerous CD software projects currently
underway. Blue Lightning™, scheduled for Christmas
release, is a realistic high speed aerial combat experi-

355

ence aboard your own fighter jet. It features high quality
sequenced graphics of landscapes and enemies within 36
separate levels. Using an optional cartridge, game players
may save and retrieve statistics such as mission status,
high scores and character information for their Blue
Lightning missions. Similar information for other CD soft-
ware titles may also be saved on the same cartridge.

Another of the planned CD releases for Christmas is
Battlemorph™”; a true 3-dimensional experience in over
50 all-new virtual worlds. Player chooses at will between
fighter, tank or submarine with complete 3D movement.
The many features include texture mapped enemies and
structures. Play inside caves, underwater, on land and in
the sky. Work with the resistance to bring down the Perni-
tia Empire.

Anyone who enjoys a round of golf will love Jack Nicklaus
Cyber Golf™. This CD package includes True Color photos
of Murfield Golf Course with access to CD quality voice

to help with each hole. Study Jack Nicklaus‘ golf swing to
improve your own game with full motion video of him and
other golfers. Also look for the CD titles; Highlander™,
Creature Shock™, Demolition Man™ and an assortment
of third party products that will begin shipping fourth
quarter 1994.

Thanks to the many talents of Mr. Jeff Minter; author of
the award-winning Tempest 2000™, Atari‘s new CD-
ROM includes the Virtual Light Machine™ (VLM). No
other game system has VLM. VLM literally looks at audio
compact discs as they are played and spontanteously
produces a spectrum analysis of every incoming sound.

356

This information is assembled in a frequency map of the
music and assigned complex visual equivalents. Advanced
64-bit data processing makes it possible for the transla-
tion to take place almost faster than the ear can hear it so
images are in perfect tune with the sound as it is played.
The result is a stunning light show. VLM is perfect for par-
ties and every other listening environment where audio
compact discs are enjoyed.

Jaguar owners will enjoy VideoCD full-motion movies
with an optional MPEG video cartridge. No other home
system offers simultaneous access to cartridges, compact
discs and a 64-bit multimedia platform.

The ability to do so much more is another key reason ma-
jor developers are turning to the Jaguar. Mr. William Re-
hbock, Vice President of Third Party Development, states,
“Our success to attract more than 150 Jaguar licensees is
due, in large part, to the tools we are able to provide them.
There are basic development tools and there are peripher-
al options. Developers are drawn to these elements. CD is
another option for them that enables them to choose the
best media to distribute each product. Ultimately this
gives the consumer more choices too.”

“We have spent a lot of time to make certain we have
packed the CD-ROM full of technologies that our develop-
ers can grow into while keeping the platform affordable
for the consumer,” affirms Mr. Sam Tramiel, President
and CEO of Atari Corporation. “It was important to keep
the price as low as possible. It was important to include

all the features of CD-ROM that developers need most to
please their customers. Finally, it was important to remain

357

faithful to our ‘Made In America’ foundation. The Jaguar
is manufactured by IBM in the U.S. The CD-ROM will be
manufactured in the United States by Philips.”

“Based on feedback we have had so far, consumers want
to support an advanced gaming company that makes what
it sells at home,” concludes Mr. Tramiel. “We're going to
give them what they want.”

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-

mark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks or

registered trademarks of their owning companies.

358

Jaguar™ hits Road with E.G.M. Supertour ‘94!

Chicago, IL — June 23, 1994 — Consumer Electronics
Show — Atari Corporation announced today that it has
hit the road with a summer long exhibition of the Atari
Jaguar in many popular shopping malls across America.
The SuperTour ‘94 is the second annual tour co-spon-
sored by Electronic Gaming Monthly (E.G.M.); an excel-
lent source of information covering the explosive world
of video games. The show tour is also sponsored by Hero
Illustrated; the number one name in comic guides.

SuperTour ‘94 offers an opportunity for merchants and
enthusastic game players to see, feel and hear the newest
innovations in gaming entertainment including the Atari
Jaguar; the world‘s first and only 64-bit interactive multi-
media home entertainment system. The Jaguar and com-
patible game titles have been awarded multiple awards for
technical achievement, design and innovation worldwide.

“We want gamers to compare our system with others,”

states Mr. Sam Tramiel, President and CEO of Atari Cor-
poration. “The E.G.M. SuperTour encourages those com-
parisons with side-by-side competitions and demonstra-
tions. Comparisons always sell more machines for Atari.”

The E.G.M. SuperTour ‘94 is scheduled through Septem-
ber in shopping malls from Charlotte and Orlando to Los
Angeles and Seattle; with cities like Chicago and Denver
along the way. The show attracts gamers and comic col-
lectors with a wide variety of contests, games and prizes
including a full-size professional pinball machine.

359

“We are getting flooded with calls,” notes Mr. Donald
Thomas, Director of Customer Service for Atari Corpora-
tion. “Gamers want us to know that they saw the Jaguar at
some of the preseason shows and their nearest store sold
out already. They want to know where to find more.”

The SuperTour ‘94 show schedule may be found in the
most current issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly. The an-
nounced tour stops include the following cities:

June 24 - 26, Lincolnwood Town Center, Lincolnwood, IL
July 1 - 3, Rosemont Convention Center, Chicago, IL

July 8 - 10, Northlake, Atlanta, GA

July 15 - 17, Atlanta Hilton and Towers, Atlanta, GA

July 22 - 24, Aurora Mall, Denver, CO

July 29 - 31, Plaza Bonita, San Diego, CA

August 3 - 7, San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA
August 12 - 14, Del Amo Fashion, Los Angeles, CA

August 19 - 21, Glendale Galleria, Los Angeles, CA
August 26 - 28, Vallco Fashion Center, Cupertino, CA
September 2 - 4, Eastridge, San Jose, CA

September 9 - 11, Southcenter, Seattle, WA

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-

mark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks or

registered trademarks of their owning companies.

360

Jaguar™ Mania inspires Network Gaming

Chicago, IL — June 23, 1994 — Consumer Electronics Show
— Atari Corporation announced today that Jaguar own-
ers will be connecting their systems together and playing
networked games within the next 4 months. The network
technology on the Jaguar can support up to 32 simultane-
ous game players depending on the software. Networking
and Atari‘s new Voice/Modem for the Jaguar are two
innovative ways Jaguar owners can play complex games
against each other with multiple systems by Christmas

‘94.

“We are extremely excited about all of this,” said Mr. Rich-
ard Miller, Vice President of Engineering for Atari Corpo-
ration. “Now 64-bit gaming can be an exciting multi-play-
er experience as well as an individual pleasure.”

The Jaguar networking package enables network compat-
ible Jaguar games to be played on different systems up to
300 feet apart from each other. The system uses standard
RJi1 phone line cable and implements reliable differen-
tial-pair technology. The first network game published by
Atari will be Doom™. Many other titles will be announced
soon thereafter.

The Atari Jaguar is the world‘s first and only 64-bit inter-
active multimedia home entertainment system. The Atari
Jaguar and compatible software titles have been awarded
multiple awards for technical achievement, design and
innovation worldwide.

361

Jag-Ware™ debuts for Jaguar™ Aficionados

Chicago, IL — June 23, 1994 — Consumer Electronics
Show — Atari Corporation announced today a new full-
line gift catalog especially for Atari Jaguar gamers. The
catalog, shown publicly for the first time at the Consumer
Electronics Show (CES) in Chicago, features nearly 20
popular consumer items fashionably adorned with the
licensed Jaguar logo. The Atari Jaguar is the world‘s first
64-bit interactive multimedia home entertainment system
and is the only system of its kind manufactured in the
United States. The Jaguar has been awarded multiple
awards for technical achievement, design and innovation.

Effective July 1, 1994, consumers throughout the world
may order products exclusive to the new Jag-Ware col-
lection. Items range in price as low as $2.95, but no item
is more than $100 and include watches, T-Shirts, waist
packs, caps and more.

“We have been bombarded by Jaguar users asking for
items they can wear or give as gifts with the Jaguar logo
on it,” explains Mr. Greg LaBrec, Director of Creative Ser-
vices for Atari Corporation. “The traditional and new Atari
consumer has fallen in love with the Jaguar and wants to
show everyone that they‘ve already moved up to the world
of 64-bit entertainment technology.”

Offering apparel and gift items is new for Atari and is a
reflection of the growing popularity of the Jaguar system
and Atari‘s commitment behind it. The items selected in
the 8-page, full-color catalog have been carefully chosen
by Atari with the advice of Norscot Group, Inc.; suppliers

362

of Corporate namesake specialty catalogs for nearly a
quarter century. Each item was chosen on merits of popu-
larity, durability and practical application. All items are
protected by a 100% satisfaction guarantee and typically
shipped within 48 hours as long as they are in stock.

The Jag-Ware catalog will be mailed to existing Jaguar
owners registered with Atari Corporation within the next
120 days. Those wishing to obtain a copy sooner may re-
quest one by mail by writing: ,JAG-WARE Catalog“, Atari
Corporation, P.O. Box 61657, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657.
Catalogs will also be supplied with new Jaguar systems.
Additionally, modem users will find text based copies of
the catalog distributed in publications such as Atari Ex-
plorer Online and Silicon Times Report.

Those wishing to place orders may call 1(800) 653-3313
toll free. International orders accepted by calling (414)
241-3313. Faxed orders accepted by dialing (414) 241-
4904. Orders may be mailed to: Norscot Group, Inc.,
10510 North Port Washington Road, Mequon, WI 53002.
Money Orders, MasterCard, Visa and American Express
accepted. Dealers and Distributors should place their fall
orders now.

Jaguar and Jag-Ware are trademarks of Atari Corporation. Atari is a

registered trademark of Atari Corporation.

363

Tempest 2000™ Soundtrack available on CD

Chicago, IL — June 23, 1994 — Consumer Electronics
Show — Atari Corporation announced today that the popu-
lar soundtrack of Tempest 2000 has been remastered for
a new special edition audio compact disc to be made avail-
able in the third quarter of 1994.

“A lot of people ask if Atari would ever consider releasing
the incredible soundtrack from Tempest 2000,” states
Mr. James Grunke, Director of Music and Audio for Atari
Corporation. “The music has wide appeal to the large
dance and rave audiences who love the techno style of the
Tempest 2000 music.”

Although some of the specifications are being retained

for the formal release in a few months, Tempest 2000
Soundtrack will include new versions of the music used in
the actual game cartridge PLUS bonus tracks of previously
unreleased material. Tempest 2000 is Atari‘s blockbuster
64-bit video game title compatible with the Atari Jaguar
game system.

Tempest 2000 Soundtrack will be available through Atari
retailers, select music stores, or directly from Atari‘s own
Customer Service Department. For more information,
contact Atari by writing: Tempest 2000 Soundtrack, Atari
Corporation, P.O. Box 61657, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657.
Tempest 2000 Soundtrack will be priced under $15.

The Atari Jaguar is the world‘s first 64-bit interactive
multimedia home entertainment system. The Jaguar
and compatible game titles have been awarded multiple

364

awards for technical achievement, design and
innovation.

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-

mark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks or

registered trademarks of their owning companies.

365

Beamscope Canada Becomes Canadian Distribu-
tor for Atari Corp.

Toronto — July 8, 1994 — Beamscope Canada Ine. and At-
ari Corp. said Beamscope Canada has been appointed the
exclusive Canadian distributor for the Atari Jaguar 64-Bit
Interactive Multimedia System, including all hardware,
software and peripherals. In a press release, Atari said,
“Beamscope is clearly the company which has the most
extensive retail market coverage, as well as having more
than 10 years of experience in the video game business.
We are extremely excited about our new association with
Beamscope and plan to support their efforts to re-estab-
lish Atari as the pre-eminent brand.”

366

Atari Selects Edelman Public Relations to market
leading edge Video Game System

San Francisco, CA — July 28, 1994 — Atari Corporation,
the company that created the video game industry, has
hired Edelman Public Relations Worldwide to help market
the Jaguar, its 64-bit interactive multimedia game sys-
tem. Edelman Public Relations was selected because of

its strong heritage in general consumer marketing and its
savvy in marketing technology products to consumers.

“To succeed in the video game business you need great
hardware, great software and great marketing,” explained
Sam Tramiel, president and chief executive officer of Atari
Corporation. “Experts agree we have the best hardware.
We also have 150 developers, publishers and licensees
creating great games for the system,” he added. “Now

we have an award-winning international public relations
team on board to make this the year of the Jaguar.”

Edelman Public Relations, the sixth largest public rela-
tions firm in the world, has 27 offices in the U.S., Canada,
Mexico, Europe and the Asia Pacific. The firm, which was
named Agency of the Year by Inside PR Magazine, pro-
vides public relations services in a full range of specialty
areas, including consumer product marketing, technology,
health care, business and industrial, travel and tourism,
public affairs, corporate and investor relations, the envi-
ronment and event marketing. Edelman‘s clients include
Del Monte, The Ford Motor Company, Toys ‘R’ Us, Visa
and others. The Atari account will be handled by consum-
er technology specialists in the firm‘s Mountain View and
San Francisco offices in California.

367

“We are pleased to be working for the company that cre-
ated the video game industry and pioneered the use of
64-bit technology,” said Richard Edelman, president and
chief operating officer of Edelman Worldwide.

The Atari Jaguar is the world's first 64-bit interactive
multimedia home entertainment system and is the only
video game system manufactured in the United States.
Atari Corporation, based in Sunnyvale, California, designs
and markets 64-bit multimedia entertainment systems
and video games.

368

Atari and Sandwich Islands Publishing announce
Atari Jaguar Strategy Guide “Atari Jaguar Official
Games Secrets” to be the first authorized Jaguar
book

Sunnyvale, CA/Lahaina, HI — June 30, 1994 — Atari
Corporation announced today an agreement with Hawaii-
based book company Sandwich Islands Publishing to pro-
duce Atari Jaguar Official Games Secrets, the first strategy
guide produced for the Jaguar, and the first Jaguar book
written with the full authorization and cooperation of
Atari.

Written by the trio of Zach Meston (contributing editor to
VideoGames, Computer Player, and Tips & Tricks maga-
zines), J. Douglas Arnold, and Danny Han, Atari Jaguar
Official Games Secrets will feature complete secrets and
strategies for the hottest Jaguar games on the market, in-
cluding Tempest 2000, Aliens vs. Predator, Kasumi Ninja,
Wolfenstein 3-D, Doom, Iron Soldier, Ultra Vortex, Club
Drive, and many more. Also included will be previews of
upcoming Jaguar releases, interviews with Jaguar game
programmers, and a “tech specs” chapter written by Jag-
uar game developer Douglas Engel.

“We are extremely excited about working with Atari
Corporation, and we are confident that Atari‘s library of
superb games, combined with our detailed strategies, will
make for a book that no Jaguar owner can afford to be
without,” said Joe Harabin, president of Sandwich Islands
Publishing. “Atari Jaguar Official Games Secrets will
convey the excitement of the Jaguar‘s 64-bit power with
hundreds of screen shots and a vivid layout design that‘s

369

almost as enjoyable to look at as the games themselves.”

Zach Meston, lead author of Atari Jaguar Official Games
Secrets, added, “I spent most of my early childhood hav-
ing enormous fun with the Atari 2600, so it’s an incred-
ible thrill for me to work directly with the company that
helped me to sharpen my hand-eye coordination and get
such a great job in the first place.”

Atari Jaguar Official Games Secrets will be available in
December 1994 at a suggested retail price of $14.95.

The Atari Jaguar is the world‘s first 64-bit interactive mul-
timedia home entertainment system. The Atari Jaguar and
compatible software titles have been awarded multiple
awards for technical achievement, design and innovation.

Sandwich Islands Publishing is a privately held company
based in the tropical paradise of Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii. It
was formed in 1984 and has been producing best-selling
video game strategy guides since 1990. Sandwich Islands
Publishing‘s books are distributed in the U.S. and over-
seas, including Spain, France, and the U.K.

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-

mark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks or

registered trademarks of their owning companies.

370

Atari abolishes all Rules — Scores Touchdown
with new “Brutal Sports Football”

Sunnyvale, CA — August 22, 1994 — Imagine no rules on
the football field as you decapitate your opponent as he
runs toward the goal line. The only game you'll experience
it on is Brutal Sports Football and the only video game
system you'll play it on is Atari‘s award-winning Jaguar.
The first of many third-party video games, Brutal Sports
Football also is the first sports-related, fast-action game
developed for the 64-bit Jaguar system.

Initially released for sale in mid August, with national
availability in September, Brutal Sports Football repre-
sents a hybrid in video games — coupling the sporting
elements of rugby with the blood-and-guts mayhem of
the most popular video games. The product is designed
for action gamers and football fans who are tired of the
same old set of moves and rules. The new rules are simple
... there are none. Players simply pick up the ball and run
for their video game life while avoiding the head-hunting
opposition.

“Brutal Sports Football was our chance to work with the
most sophisticated video game platform on the market,
the 64-bit Jaguar,” said Telegames‘ Terry Grantham.
“We've been developing software for Atari hardware since
1982 and believe this is our most innovative product yet.”
Brutal Sports Football, retailing for $69.95 at consumer
electronics and toy stores nationwide, is the first of numer-
ous games Telegames is developing for the Jaguar platform
including World Class Cricket, Ultimate Brain Games,
Casino Royale, and Operation Starfish (James Pond 3).

371

Atari‘s Jaguar game system has approximately 30 soft-
ware titles planned for release before the holiday season.
Popular titles in the works include Alien Vs. Predator,
Dragon — The Bruce Lee Story, Doom, Busby, Troy Aik-
man Football, and Kasumi Ninja.

“We've challenged our software designers to develop
games that use the full technological capacity of the

64- bit Jaguar,” said Atari Corporation President Sam
Tramiel. “This means players can look forward to some
incredible titles in the near future because our developers
are not constrained by less-sophisticated 16-bit or 32-bit
technology.” More than 150 independent developers cur-
rently are working on Jaguar-compatible products.

Since its release in November 1993, Atari‘s Jaguar game
system has been named the industry‘s “Best New Game
System” (Video Games Magazine), “Best New Hardware
System” (Game Informer) and “1993 Technical Achieve-
ment of the Year” (DieHard GameFan). The Jaguar is
the only video game system manufactured in the United
States.

Atari Corporation, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., designs and

markets 64-bit interactive multimedia entertainment
systems and video games.

372

Atari and Williams Entertainment to create 64-bit
versions of popular Arcade games

Sunnyvale, CA — September 26, 1994 — Atari and Wil-
liams Entertainment have agreed to work together to
bring vastly enhanced versions of Williams‘ popular,
classic arcade games to the Atari 64-bit Jaguar system and
high performance PCs.

According to the licensing agreement, Atari will exploit
the Jaguar system‘s 64-bit power to create new versions
of such Williams‘ hits as Joust, Defender, and Robotron.
These new games will offer features such as first-person
perspectives in a realistic, three-dimensional environ-
ment. Atari then will market these games for its Jaguar
system, while Williams will license the new versions to
market them for high performance PCs. “64-bit power will
make our best games even better by creating a compel-
ling, immersive, experience for players,” said Byron Cook,
president of Williams Entertainment. “We are very excited
about the Atari Jaguar 64-bit platform and are happy to
support it with our finest titles.”

This is not the first cooperative venture between Williams
and Atari. Williams and Atari have been promoting the
Jaguar 64-bit system with Williams‘ Troy Aikman NFL
Football through radio promotions in 25 top markets
nationwide. Williams will make the game available in
November on the Jaguar. Williams also is publishing a
Jaguar version of its popular game Double Dragon Five,
which also will be available in November.

Williams Entertainment Inc. is the new home video

373

subsidiary of WMS Industries, the company that created
Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam video games.

Since its release in November 93 Atari's Jaguar game
system has been named the industry‘s Best New Game
System (Video Games Magazine), Best New Hardware
Systems (Game Informer) and 1993 Technical Achieve-
ment of the Year (Die Hard Game Fan). Jaguar, the
world‘s first 64-bit video game system, retails for $249.00
and is the only video game system manufactured in the
United States.

Atari Corporation, based in Sunnyvale Calif., designs and markets 64-bit

interactive multimedia entertainment systems and video games.

374

Sega and Atari announce long-term Licensing
Agreements, Equity Investment, and resolutlon of
disputes

Sunnyvale, CA — September 28, 1994 — Sega Enterprises,
Ltd., and Atari Corporation announced today an affilia-
tion that includes several agreements designed to serve as
the basis of future working arrangements between the two
video game manufacturers.

Under the terms of the agreements:

* Sega will receive worldwide, non-exclusive rights with
certain exceptions to Atari‘s extensive library of patents,

a number of which extend beyond the turn of the century.
The agreement covers Sega, its subsidiaries, its licensees,
and its customers for more than 70 U.S. patents and ap-
plications, for a fully prepaid royalty to Atari covering the
remaining 7 years of certain patents, amortized at approx-
imately $7 million per year. Atari will therefore receive a
total of $50 million, less Atari‘s contingent attorney fees
and costs.

¢ Sega will purchase approximately 4.7 million shares of
Atari common stock for a total price of $40 million.

* Both companies will enter into software license agree-
ments for a specified number of games that would be
made available on each company‘s present and future
platforms.

Atari will dismiss its legal proceedings against Sega, and
each company will release all claims against the other.

375

The agreements are subject to approval by the United
States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Com-
mission under Hart-Scott-Rodino and to certain other
conditions.

“We are extremely pleased with this relationship that has
potential long-term benefits for both companies,” said
David Rosen, Co-Chairman of Sega of America.

“We at Atari are very pleased with this new affiliation. The
increased cash position will be used among other things
to enhance our marketing position this fall,” said Sam
Tramiel, President, CEO of Atari Corp.

Atari designs and markets interactive multimedia entertainment systems
and is located in Sunnyvale, California.

Sega Enterprises, Ltd., Tokyo, is a nearly $4 billion company, recognized
as a leader in interactive digital entertainment media with operations on

five continents.

376

Video Gamers need not wait ‘till late 1995 to expe-
rience 64-bit Power

Sunnyvale, CA — August 29,1994 — Sega, Nintendo, 3DO
and Sony continue to tell game enthusiasts that they must
wait until late 1995 to experience advanced video game
technology and performance. But the Atari Jaguar, the
world‘s first 64-bit multimedia home entertainment
system, already is available. “By Christmas 1994, Jaguar
fans will be playing 30-50 new game titles on their 64-bit
systems while our competitors continue to play catch up
and beg their followers to be patient,” said Sam Tramiel,
Atari president and CEO. “Its nice to know American com-
panies are once again leading the way in technology.”

The Atari Jaguar is the only video game system manu-
factured in the United States. Jaguar, the most powerful
multimedia system available, was recently named the
industry‘s Best New Game System (Video Games Maga-
zine), Best New Hardware Systems (Game Informer) and
1993 Technical Achievement of the Year (Die Hard Game
Fan). Jaguar also recently was given the European Com-
puter Trade Show Award for Best Hardware of the Year.
“We still have the best hardware on the market. And now
we have great titles rolling in,” said Tramiel. ,,So if you can
buy 64-bit power today for under $250, why should you
wait until 1995 to spend close to $500?” said Tramiel.

In September, Atari will launch an aggressive advertising
campaign highlighting the great gameplay made possible
by the Atari Jaguar‘s 64-bit power. One of the campaign
spots stresses the immersive, 3D nature of Jaguar games
by focusing on upcoming title Alien Vs. Predator. “The 3D

377

graphics and texture mapping take full advantage of the
Jaguar‘s technological superiority and create an experi-
ence that is out of this world,” said Tramiel.

Atari Corporation, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., designs and markets 64-bit

interactive multimedia entertainment systems and video games.

378

Alien Vs. Predator comes alive on 64-bit Atari
Jaguar

Sunnyvale, CA — October 3, 1994 — Move over Mortal
Kombat II, on October 21 the most sought-after video
game will arrive in stores across the country. The ad-
vanced first-person perspective version of Alien Vs. Preda-
tor, available only on the award-winning 64-bit Jaguar
system by Atari, is already being considered one of the
best game titles in video game history by people “in the
know’ — the video game reviewers.

“Alien Vs. Predator is the best 3-D action game that I have
ever played — the graphics and game play are second to
none,” claimed Editor-in-Chief Dave Halverson of Die
Hard Game Fan. “If you own a Jaguar, you must own this
game, and if you don‘t own a Jag, well, it’s time to get one.
More games are on the way!”

Roaring into stores on October 21 at a suggested retail
price of $69.99, Alien Vs. Predator for the 64-bit Jaguar
blows away prior versions of the game with the most
realistic graphics available, amazing digitized sound ef-
fects and increased play variety. Alien Vs. Predator is a
Twentieth Century Fox licensed property based on the
films of the same names. Gamers can choose the Predator,
Alien or the Colonial Marine as they battle through differ-
ent theaters of combat including the Predator Ship, the
Marine Training Base and the Alien Ship, enjoying hours
of different types of play.

“I was overwhelmed by the cutting-edge graphics and the
innovative game play of Alien Vs. Predator — no question,

379

it’s the best Jaguar game to date,” said Paul Anderson of
Game Informer. “The sheer size of Alien Vs. Predator is
amazing — Ive already spent 40-plus hours playing as
the Marine and haven't even tried the Alien or Predator
assignments. Alien Vs. Predator will keep the attention of
even the most seasoned game players.”

“The sophisticated technology of the Jaguar platform al-
lows for the best in stop-motion animation, giving each
character smooth, realistic movements, and digitized
sound effects that provide a dynamic audio environment,”
said software developer Purple Hampton. “Alien Vs.
Predator is the best demonstration to date of what 64-bit
technology can provide in terms of sophisticated graphics,
sound quality and game play.”

Atari‘s Jaguar game system has approximately 30 soft-
ware titles planned for release before the holiday season.
Popular titles in the works include Dragon — The Bruce
Lee Story, Doom, Rayman, Troy Aikman Football, and
Kasumi Ninja.

“We believe that Alien Vs. Predator has true mega-hit
potential,” said Atari Corporation President Sam Tramiel.
“This is a great example of Atari developing new games
that use the full technological capacity of the 64-bit Jaguar
and taking home video games above and beyond where
they‘ve been to date.”

In support of this landmark game and the Jaguar system,
Atari has launched an aggressive, multi-million dollar
advertising campaign that includes a specific television ad
for Alien Vs. Predator. The advertising schedule includes

380

national cable advertising in addition to programming in
19 of the top spot markets that will deliver more than 300
million targeted media impressions.

Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia en-
tertainment systems, including Jaguar, the world‘s only
64-bit system, and the only video game system manufac-
tured in the United States. Atari is headquartered at 1196
Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94089.

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-
mark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their owning companies.

ALIEN™ and PREDATOR™ are trademarks of Twentieth Century Fox

Film Corporation and used under sublicense from Activision.

381

Toys-R-Us stocks up on Jaguar, the world‘s first
64-bit Video Game System

Sunnyvale, CA — October 10, 1994 — Toys-R-Us isn‘t wait-
ing until late 1995 to offer 64-bit video game systems in
its stores. The retail chain has agreed to stock the award-
winning Atari Jaguar in nearly 300 Toys-R-Us stores. The
Jaguar is the only 64-bit video game system in the world.

“Our competitors want consumers to wait until next
Christmas to experience the power of 64-bit video games,”
said Sam Tramiel, president of Atari. “But why should
they wait when they can walk into a store and buy the
most advanced video game system now?”

The Atari Jaguar currently is sold in approximately 3,000
retail outlets across the United States with new accounts
continuing to sign up as sales build toward the holiday
buying season.

Atari certainly isn‘t waiting for game enthusiasts to
discover the Jaguar. On September 12, Atari launched an
aggressive, multi-million dollar advertising campaign.

The campaign kicked off with a humorous new commer-
cial in which a teacher attempts to explain 64-bit technol-
ogy to a group of dim witted video game marketers who
can‘t seem to tell her which of three numbers — 16, 32 and
64 — is larger. The advertising schedule includes national
cable advertising in addition to programming in 19 of the
top spot markets that will deliver more than 300 million
targeted media impressions.

382

More than 30 Jaguar game titles are scheduled for release
leading up to the holiday season. Expected hits include
Alien vs. Predator, Dragon — The Bruce Lee Story, Doom,
Troy Aikman Football, Iron Soldier and Kasumi Ninja.

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-

mark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks or

registered trademarks of their owning companies.

383

Atari joins forces with Virtuality to offer Home
Virtual Reality Games by Christmas 1995

Sunnyvale, CA — October 25, 1994 — Atari Corporation,
the name that created the video game industry, has joined
forces with Virtuality Group plc, the leader in virtual real-
ity technology and arcade games, to create the world‘s first
immersive virtual reality games for the home market.

According to the just signed agreement, Virtuality will
finalize development of a consumer version of its head
mounted display technology (virtual reality headset) that
Atari will manufacture and market for use with the Atari
Jaguar 64-bit multimedia home entertainment system.
Terms of the agreement call for Atari to contribute toward
the development cost and pay a license to Virtuality to
produce and market the product. The virtual reality
headset will be available to consumers by Christmas 1995
with a targeted price of less than $200.

“The Atari Jaguar platform is the only 64-bit system cur-
rently on the market and is ideally suited for immersive,
virtual reality games,” said Jon Waldern, chief executive
officer of Virtuality. “This deal propels both companies
to the forefront in the home market for virtual reality
gaming. Thanks to the Atari Jaguar, fans of our many hit
arcade titles will soon be able to play their favorite
virtual reality games at home.”

Atari President Sam Tramiel explained that both Atari and
Virtuality have worldwide reputations for offering the
most advanced gaming technology and performance.
“Combining Virtuality‘s ability to deliver low cost solu-

384

tions for virtual reality technology applications with the
processing power capabilities of the 64-bit Atari Jaguar
will result in a very high quality virtual reality experience
at a very affordable price,” he said.

Tramiel added, “By Christmas 1995, Jaguar owners will al-
ready be wearing their virtual reality headsets and playing
virtual reality games at home. While others in the industry
play catch up trying to offer 32 and 64-bit systems, Atari
is extending our technological advantage over our com-
petitors by delivering a high-quality virtual reality experi-
ence.”

Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment sys-
tems, including Jaguar, the world's only 64-bit game system, and the
only video game system manufactured in the United States.

Virtuality Group plc is the world leader in the design of high quality

virtual reality technology, arcade gaming systems and software.

385

Jaguar Online! Meet the Alien Vs. Predator design
team!

Sunnyvale, CA — November 7, 1994 — As part of Atari
Corporation‘s celebration of new 64-bit game releases for
the Jaguar Interactive Multimedia System, online confer-
ences on the GEnie and CompuServe online services have
been scheduled. Within weeks following Atari‘s highly
successful release of Alien Vs. Predator, comes a wide as-
sortment of additional titles exclusively on the Jaguar and
just in time for Christmas.

The conferences will be be held Tuesday, November 29th
at 5PM (Pacific Time) on CompuServe and Wednesday,
November 30th at 6PM (Pacific Time) on GEnie. The
guest panel will feature the Alien Vs. Predator design
team, Mr. “Purple” Hampton, Senior Producer and Mr.
James Grunke, Director of Audio. They will be available
to answer questions, provide some great game tips and
let everyone in on the inside story of the making of Alien
Vs. Predator. In addition, Atari‘s Mr. Ron Beltramo, Vice
President Marketing, will be in attendance with excit-
ing news about upcoming releases. Other popular Atari
personalities will be in attendance as well as members of
the online press such as Mr. Travis Guy of Atari Explorer
Online and Mr. Dana Jacobson of Silicon Times Report.

All paid subscribers attending the conferences a minimum
of 15 minutes will qualify for a free Alien Vs. Predator cin-
ema-quality poster. In addition, all paid subscribers who
attend each entire conference will qualify to win a com-
plete Jaguar system, an Alien Vs. Predator game cartridge
(autographed by the design team) or T-shirts. Winners

386

will be required to answer a fundamental trivia ques-
tion about Alien Vs. Predator. (Although the conference
is open to subscribers worldwide, only North American
members are eligible to win prizes).

Also look for Atari‘s Fantastic Alien Vs. Predator online
trivia contest to begin November 29, 1994 and end on
December 9, 1994. Win a Jaguar and other prizes.

Due to the great number of people expected to attend,
both services are making special arrangements to ac-
commodate the volume. For more specific information,
contact the System Operators. Type JAGUAR on GEnie or
GO JAGUAR on CompuServe to jump to the Atari Jaguar
support areas. Both services require a computer, modem
and an account in good standing. Each offers an excellent
assortment of game tips, sample graphics and audio files,
interactive messaging with Atari personnel and many
other features. To subscribe, call 800/848-8199 to join
CompuServe or 800/638-9636 to join GEnie.

Atari and Jaguar are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari

Corporation. All other products or services mentioned are trademarks or

registered trademarks of their owning companies.

387

Atari responds to Dan Dorfman article in USA
Today

Sunnyvale, CA — November 8, 1994 — Atari senior man-
agement today rebuffed Dan Dorfman‘s November 7th
USA Today story. Commenting on Dorfman‘s report Sam
Tramiel, Atari President, said, “It is disruptive to the mar-
ket to have a short position fund manager such as Mr. Sass
put out a self serving report with critical information omit-
ted and not even bothering to call the Company to confirm.
It is further disturbing that Mr. Dorfman condones such
behavior and comments on such positions.” The article,
with testimonial from Martin Sass of M.D. Sass Investors,
was misleading and contained many inaccuracies such as:

1. Dorfman says that this is the second time that Sass
shorted the stock and that the first time was in April of
1993. From what Atari understands the fact is that Sass
did this in April of 1994 and that a report by Dorfman

in June of 1994 quoting Sass saying that Atari was a
bankruptcy candidate caused Atari stock to go down and
benefitted Sass‘s position of being short the Atari stock to
the detriment of Atari shareholders. In the months follow-
ing the Dorfman report the Atari stock recovered in price
and closed on November 4th at 6 3/4. Sass again is short.
Atari and once more Dorfman issues a report quoting Mr.
Sass and Mr. Sass benefits as the Atari stock goes down
from 6 3/4 to 5 1/2 at closing on November 7, 1994.

2. Dorfman says that Atari officials were not available to
comment. The fact is that Dorfman called the Atari office
on Friday November 4th while a Board of Directors meet-
ing was in progress.

388

3. Sass says that there is a shortage of software. The fact
is that available software for the Jaguar is increasing with
the delivery of five new titles by the end of November.
These are, “Doom” from ID Software, “the best version of
Doom on any platform” says John Romero of ID; “Check-
ered Flag” from Atari, a complete 3D world Formula
racing game; “Club Drive” a 3D world game of driving
simulation and chase; “Brutal Sports Football” from Tel-
egames, a no holds barred game of football; and “Dragon:
The Bruce Lee Story” from Virgin Software, an exciting
fighting game based on the Universal Studio movie of the
same name. Sam Tramiel says, “Software delays did occur
as the development teams learned how to harness the
power of the 64 bit Jaguar system. Now the developers are
up to speed; we expect there to be a continuous stream of
game releases throughout the balance of this year and into
1995 and the future.” The most recent release “Alien vs.
Predator”(™, Twentieth Century Fox) which hit the retail
shelves in October, is selling briskly, is indicative of the
technically advanced gaming experience which is possible
on the Jaguar system. In order to achieve a high degree of
game quality and the overall success of the Jaguar plat-
form, management has intentionally delayed the publish-
ing of some titles. Atari expects over 20 titles to be avail-
able by Christmas 1994.

4. Dorfman says that Sass sees a big write-off of the
Jaguar system as well as write-offs in Atari‘s PC business.
The facts are that Atari is out of the PC business and took
write-offs in this area in 1993. There are no more write-
offs in the PC business for Atari. The Jaguar is the leading
technology in the interactive game market. Atari sees a
very promising future for this platform, which includes

389

the introduction in the near future of a CD peripheral and
the possible entry into the interactive cable market.

Atari will soon be publishing its third quarter financial
results and as expected will report a net loss of approxi-
mately $3.9 million as compared to a $17.6 million loss for
the same period in 1993. The loss in the 1994 period was

a result of delays in software releases as well as expenses
related to promotional activity.

An important fact omitted from the Dorfman article was
the recently announced agreements between Atari and
Sega. Sega will license from Atari a patent library for a one
time cash payment of $50 million (Atari‘s net being less
contingent legal fees and costs). Sega will also purchase
$40 million of Atari stock at a price of $8.50 per share,
the same per share price paid by Time Warner in April
of 1994. The agreement also allows for Atari and Sega

to cross license up to 5 titles per year on their respective
platforms. Finally, it also permits both companies to be
publishers on each others platforms if they desire. These
transactions are subject to regulatory approval and are
expected to close shortly.

“The Jaguar represents Atari‘s philosophy of offering lead-
ing edge technology at affordable prices and we feel it has
a very bright future,” says Tramiel.

390

Atari and Sega — regulatory approval

Sunnyvale, CA — November 16, 1994 — Atari Corporation
announced today that it has received regulatory approval
in connection with its agreements with Sega and the
transactions have closed.

Sega has paid Atari $50 million (Atari‘s net being less
contingent legal fees and costs) in exchange for a license
from Atari covering the use of a library of patents. In addi-
tion, Sega has made an equity investment in Atari of $40
million at acommon share price of $8.50. Finally, Sega
and Atari have entered into cross licensing agreements
through the year 2001. The cross licensing agreement

also allows the two companies to publish on each of their
respective platforms.

Commenting on the announcement, Sam Tramiel, presi-
dent of Atari, said, “We are very pleased to have closed
these transactions. These funds will be used to increase
software development for the Atari Jaguar as well as
increased promotional activity and other working capital
requirements.”

Since its release in November 1993, Atari‘s Jaguar game
system has been named the industry‘s “Best New Game
System” (Video Game Magazine), “Best New Hardware
System” (Game Informer) and “1993 Technical Achieve-
ment of the Year” (DieHard GameFan). The Jaguar is
the only video game system manufactured in the United
States.

391

Atari stalks Japan

Sunnyvale, CA — November 21, 1994 — Atari Corp. Mon-
day announced that the Atari Jaguar, the world’s only 64-
bit video game system, will now be available at all 25 Toys
“R” Us stores and other selected stores in Japan.

Mumin Corp. of Tokyo will handle distribution and sales.
Japanese consumers will be able to test-drive the Atari
Jaguar Interactive Multimedia System at special demon-
stration kiosks in Toys “R” Us stores.

“The Japanese are very serious about their video game
systems, and they will choose the system with the best
graphics and most sophisticated playing environment,”
said Sam Tramiel, chief executive officer of Atari Corp.
“We think that if they are given the chance to compare,
Japanese gamers will choose Atari Jaguar.”

The launch in Japan marks another significant milestone
in building worldwide distribution for the Atari Jaguar
system. Introduced in October of last year, the Jaguar
was only available in New York and San Francisco during
last year‘s important holiday shopping season. Today, the
Jaguar is available throughout the United States, Canada,
Europe and, now, Japan.

“We have the best game system in the business, hit games
like Alien Vs. Predator and the soon-to-be-released Doom,
and we are expanding our distribution,” Tramiel added.
“The momentum for Jaguar is building every day.”

Since its release in November 1993, Atari‘s Jaguar game

392

system has been named the industry‘s “Best New Game

System” (Video Games Magazine), “Best New Hardware
System” (Game Informer) and “1993 Technical Achieve-
ment of the Year” (DieHard GameFan).

Atari Corp. markets interactive multimedia entertainment systems, in-

cluding Jaguar, the world‘s only 64-bit game system, and the only video

game system manufactured in the United States.

393,

Atari‘s Alien Vs. Predator hits big in Stores

Sunnyvale, CA — November 22, 1994 — Atari Corpora-
tion today announced that initial production of its new
Alien Vs. Predator game, launched October 21st in stores
around the world, has nearly sold-out. Atari is working
with suppliers to rush additional quantities to stores in
anticipation of increasing pre-Christmas demand for the
game. Alien Vs. Predator utilizes the sophisticated graph-
ics and power available from the 64-bit Atari Jaguar.

“In less than three weeks, over 50% of our installed base
purchased Alien Vs. Predator,” said Sam Tramiel, CEO of
Atari Corporation. “This is the most enthusiastic reception
we've ever seen for a game and is indicative of what a truly
great game Alien Vs. Predator really is. We have also seen
a strong increase in sales for the Jaguar system coincid-
ing with the release of this game and the launch of our
expanded advertising program.”

Atari‘s new Alien Vs. Predator for the 64-bit Jaguar sys-
tem provides such realistic graphics and life-like digitized
sound effects that it creates a compelling, first-person
perspective. Gamers can choose to be the Predator, Alien
or Colonial Marine as they battle through the Predator
ship, the Marine Training Base or the Alien ship, enjoy-
ing hours of entertainment. Alien Vs. Predator is licensed
from Twentieth Century Fox and is based on the films of
the same names.

Key game reviewers have been effusive in their praise
for Alien Vs. Predator. Paul Anderson of Game Informer
Magazine stated: “I was overwhelmed with the cutting

394

edge graphics and the innovative game play of AVP — no
question it‘s the best Jaguar game to-date.“

»Alien Vs. Predator is the best 3-D action game that I have
ever played — the graphics and game play are second to
none,” wrote Dave Halverson, editor-in-chief of DieHard
GameFan. “If you own a Jaguar, you must own this game,
and if you don‘t own a Jag, it's time to get one. More
games are on the way!”

Atari plans to release more startlingly realistic games.
Games scheduled for late November release include Club
Drive, Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story and Doom. December
releases include Iron Soldier, Val D‘Isere Skiing, Kasumi
Ninja, Zool II and Bubsy.

Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment sys-

tems, including Jaguar, the world's only 64-bit game system, and the

only video game system manufactured in the United States.

395

Atari unleashes an array of Jaguar game titles

Sunnyvale, CA — November 23, 1994 — The video game
jungle is rapidly becoming Jaguar territory as Atari plans
to enlarge its current library with the release of four new
game titles in November, including the highly anticipated
Doom, the PC cult favorite. “The Jaguar version of Doom
is the best version we've developed for any video game
platform,” said Jay Wilbur, president of id Software.

Atari also is releasing three additional titles including
Checkered Flag, Club Drive and Dragon: The Bruce Lee
Story.

“These game titles are just the tip of the iceberg of what's
to come — we'll have more than 20 titles available for the
Atari Jaguar by year‘s end,” stated Sam Tramiel, President
and CEO of Atari Corporation. “Our software library will
continue to grow rapidly in the coming months and the
coming year with titles designed to capitalize on the revo-
lutionary technology of the 64-Bit Jaguar system.”

With Jaguar‘s cutting-edge graphics, 24-bit true color and
CD-quality sound, game players experience the latest in
video game technology. Following is an outline of planned
Atari releases for late November 1994:

Game Title Game Category MFG.SRP
Checkered Flag Formula Racing $ 69.99
Club Drive Driving Simulation $ 59.99
Doom Action/Combat $ 69.99
Dragon: The

Bruce Lee Story Fighting/Martial Arts $59.99

396

Since its release, Atari‘s Jaguar game system has been
named the industry‘s “Best New Game System” (Video-
Games Magazine), “Best New Hardware System” (Gamel-
nformer) and “1993 Technical Achievement of the

Year” (DieHard GameFan). The Jaguar is the only video
game system manufactured in the United States.

Over 200 third-party developers have agreed to create
new titles for the Atari Jaguar. The November game re-
leases are part of more than 20 games scheduled for avail-
ability prior to the holidays. Other Jaguar titles expected
before year‘s end include Iron Soldier, Kasumi Ninja,

Val D‘Isere Skiing & Snowboarding, Zool2 and Bubsy.

Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world‘s only 64-bit system, and the only
video game system manufactured in the United States. Atari is headquar-

tered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94089.

397

Doom Creators unleash 64-bit hell on the Atari
Jaguar

Sunnyvale, CA — December 2, 1994 — Fans of the cult
video game DOOM can now experience what Jay Wilbur,
president of Id Software, the company that created the
popular game, describes as “the most powerful version of
the game on any video game system.” According to reports
from stores nationwide, the Jaguar version of DOOM is
already selling briskly.

DOOM is an ultra-fast virtual reality showcase that
plunges the player deep into a 3D world filled with legions
of gruesome fiends. The Atari Jaguar is the first 64-bit
video game system in the world.

Unlike versions for other video game systems, the Jaguar
version of DOOM

* Offers nine additional levels of play, including improved,
custom-designed levels available only on the Jaguar.

¢ Exploits the Jaguar‘s 64-bit power to deliver compelling,
realistic game play. For example, the monsters that
populate the Jaguar version‘s hellish world are not flat,
two-dimensional characters like they are on other
systems, but awesome, three-dimensional beings. Catch
a side-view as they walk around you, or turn-around
and shoot them in the back!

¢ Uses 65,000 colors — compared to 256 on other systems
— for advanced lighting and shading effects that provide
the most immersive, first-person experience available.

398

¢ Allows for two players. Until now, this was only possible
on the personal computer version of DOOM. Although
owners of other video game systems can play their own,
more limited version of DOOM, they cannot play each
other. Jaguar fans will be able to link up two Jaguar
systems and either team up against the gruesome fiends
or challenge each other to a death match.

¢ Offers a special save feature so Jaguar players can go
back to the last completed level and continue their
mission through the bowels of hell.

¢ Takes advantage of the full size of the television screen.

“We didn't just license the code to Atari, we developed the
Jaguar version of DOOM ourselves,” explained American
McGee, a game designer at Id Software, the company that
created DOOM. “We streamlined and improved the graph-
ics and made the game even more compelling,” he added.

The favorable reviews already are beginning to pour in.
Video Games magazine described the game as an “un-
qualified addiction for those lucky enough to play it.” The
reviewer added, “This one could be a guaranteed system-
seller for those considering a Jaguar purchase.”

An aggressive marketing campaign will promote the
Jaguar version of DOOM and will include new television
commercials and print ads. The ad campaign will run in
December, in time for the holiday shopping season.

399

Atari Jaguar on the Loose in Time Warner Cable‘s
Full Service Network

Orlando, FL — December 14, 1994 — Atari Corporation‘s
Jaguar 64-bit interactive video game system went on-
line today with the initiation of Time Warner Cable‘s Full
Service Network (FSN) in Orlando, Florida. Atari Corpo-
ration‘s CEO Sam Tramiel joined Time Warner Chairman
Gerald Levin at today‘s inauguration event in Orlando.
Jaguar, the world's first and only 64-bit interactive game
system features high-speed animation, textured three-
dimensional color images and graphics, and CD-quality
sound.

Consumers will access the Atari games on the Full Service
Network using the 64-bit Jaguar game system device,
which processes more than 100 times as much data at one
time than 16-bit games, and twice as much as 32-bit game
systems. This significantly increases speed and lets the
game player experience superior graphic performance and
animation action. Through the Full Service Network, the
Atari games are digitally compressed and stored on mag-
netic hard drives, and downloaded to the game device at
the consumers‘ request. ,,Time Warner Cable's Full Service
Network is the most advanced interactive network ever
built, and it gives subscribers the most advanced interac-
tive gaming system available — the 64-bit Atari Jaguar,”
said Atari President and CEO Sam Tramiel. “Atari‘s Jag-
uar system brings the most sophisticated hardware and
games to the network.”

Atari Jaguar Interactive Multimedia Systems are also
in use at the “Home of the 21st Century”, a model home

400

equipped with Full Service Network capabilities, and other
state-of-the-art home services located in the Sweetwater,
Wekiva, Lake Brantley and Springdale community near
Orlando. Five 64-bit Atari Jaguar Interactive Multimedia
systems are in use in the home, which is sponsored by
Time Warner Cable‘s Full Service Network and Southern
Living Magazine.

“We're proud to offer consumers the Atari Jaguar sys-
tem because it‘s the most advanced and powerful system
available today,” said Full Service Network President Tom
Feige. “When we compared the graphics and capabilities
of the game systems on the market, Atari Jaguar was the
clear choice for us.”

Since its release in November 1993, Atari‘s Jaguar system
has been named the industry‘s “Best New Game System”
by Video Games Magazine, “Best New Hardware System”
by Game Informer, and “1993 Technical Achievement of
the Year” by DieHard GameFan.

Time Warner Cable is the nation‘s second largest cable television
operator with 7.3 million customers in 34 states, and serves more than
500,000 customers in its Florida division. Time Warner Cable‘s Full
Service Network is a digital, interactive television network which merges
cable, computer and telephone technologies to provide customers
greater choice, control and convenience in accessing

information and services.

Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment sys-
tems, including Jaguar, the world's only 64-bit game system, and the

only video game system manufactured in the United States.

401

Atari debuts CD player for Jaguar at $149.99

Sunnyvale, CA — January 6, 1995 — Prepare to shift your
Jaguar into overdrive. Atari Corporation Friday an-
nounced that its new compact disc multimedia peripheral
will be available in the first quarter, priced at an amaz-
ingly affordable $149.99, including a CD game. The CD
player, which plugs into the top of the 64-bit Atari Jaguar
Interactive Multimedia System, plays CD-based Jaguar
video games and standard audio compact discs.

The Jaguar CD player provides 790 megabytes of raw data
storage to allow for the incorporation of many complex
digitized images, full-motion video sequences and loads of
CD-quality audio soundtracks into Jaguar games.

The powerful double speed Jaguar CD player incorporates
incredibly fast access speed for smoother game play and
its massive data capacity provides better graphical detail,
expanded plot lines and more characters, which all add up
to more immersive and challenging games. The first titles
available for the Jaguar CD player include: Battlemorph,
Blue Lightning, Highlander, Demolition Man and Crea-
ture Shock, with many more to come.

Atari‘s new CD Multimedia player includes the Virtual
Light Machine (VLM), which creates and displays light
patterns on the video screen in response to music played
through the system. The result is a stunning light show.
There are 81 different pattern settings available on the
VLM. The VLM is built into the Jaguar CD Multimedia
player.

402

“We want the Atari Jaguar to be the best value in the gam-
ing market, as well as, the most advanced system techno-
logically,” said Sam Tramiel, CEO of Atari Corporation.

“With the new Jaguar CD Multimedia player, Jaguar own-
ers will be able to play incredible CD-based videogames,
listen to audio discs and watch the VLM. This combina-
tion of the most advanced technology, great software

and affordable pricing is what sets Jaguar apart from the
competition.”

Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia enter-
tainment systems, including Jaguar, the world‘s first and
only 64-bit game system, and the only video game system
manufactured in the United States. Atari is headquartered
at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, Calif. 940809.

403

Atari announces winning line-up of Jaguar titles
for first half of 1995

Sunnyvale, CA — January 6, 1995 — By this summer, fans
of the first and only 64-bit game system in the world will
have more than 50 games to choose from, including doz-
ens of brand new Jaguar game titles.

“Alien vs. Predator, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Kasumi Ninja,
Iron Soldier and Tempest 2000 were the top-rated Jaguar
titles for 1994,” said Sam Tramiel, president and CEO of
Atari Corporation. “In the first half of 1995, we expect
many hit titles, including Fight for Life, Space War 2000,
Hover Strike, Ultra Vortex and Rayman. These and other
titles will substantially increase the Jaguar library.” Below
are descriptions of these upcoming hits:

Fight for Life: This 3-D fighting game, produced and pub-
lished by Atari, is set in hell, with each character striving
for the ultimate prize: the chance to gain redemption and
live again. Players choose one fighter from among eight
different characters. They then battle the remaining char-
acters one-by-one and proceed to the final showdown with
the end boss. As they defeat each opponent, players can
select up to two of each character‘s five special moves, in
effect creating their own truly unique fighting character.
(Do the math: The possibilities are endless.)

To create 3-D animation of unsurpassed fluidity and real-
ism, the production team used state-of-the-art motion
capture technology that incorporated the movements of
live martial arts experts performing nearly 200 different
moves. Artists then exploited the Jaguar‘s 64-bit system to

404

create stunning 3-D graphics that bring the characters to
life. According to Edge Magazine (December 1994), “The
skyline background looks impressive and the moves are
well-animated.” “Atari‘s Fight for Life puts a floating
camera around the 3-D fighting. Jaguar owners will soon
have a 3-D fighting game to call their own,” remarked a
reviewer at GamePro (January 1995).

Space War 2000: In their intergalactic jousts, space
knights vie for old-fashioned glory, honor, fame and
fortune. As they emerge victorious from each battle, they
procure such weapons as laser shots, missiles, shields and
cloaking devices. This first-person perspective 3-D ad-
venture, produced by Atari, is fun for single players and
spectacular as a two-player game. ,,First-person gaming is
reaching a new high, and Space War 2000 is positioning
to be a contender in that wild and crowded race,“ stated a
reviewer at EGM2 (January 1995).

Hover Strike: The mission: To lead the rebels in an at-
tempt to vanquish the formidable Space Pirates from the
planet. The weapon: A high speed hover tank armed with
rapid fire cannons, powerful missiles, on board radar and
protective shields. This game, published by Atari, uses the
Jaguar‘s 64-bit technology to deliver an action-packed,
fully texture-mapped, first-person perspective 3-D battle.
Ken Williams of Electronic Gaming Monthly says, “The
first-person perspective serves this game well, adding a
new dimension to the genre.”

Ultra Vortex: In this game, produced by Beyond Games,
players test their fighting skills in a nether world tourna-
ment. They can choose among eight valiant fighters from

405

different dimensions before the final battle with the

evil entity. Amazing sounds and graphics inspired a game

reviewer from Electronic Gaming Monthly to write, “Ultra
Vortex will make some people stop and turn their heads.”

Rayman: Ten-year old Jimmy creates a stunning imagi-
nary kingdom called “Hereitscool” in his computer and
transforms himself into Rayman, a fantasy hero who
combats the forces of evil to save his friends. Here‘s what
DieHard GameFan had to say about this winning title
from UBI Soft: “Absolutely brilliant looking. The control is
perfect and the artwork is phenomenal.”

Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment
systems, including Jaguar, the world‘s first and only 64-bit system, and
the only video game system manufactured in the United States. Atari is

headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94089.

406

Atari to expand Jaguar peripherals

Sunnyvale, CA — January 6, 1995 — New peripherals in
1995 are a key part of the system expansion plans for the
64-bit Jaguar Interactive Multimedia system, Atari Corpo-
ration today announced. “Since Jaguar has already made
the leap to 64-bit technology, we can focus on providing
even more value to consumers by expanding the system
with new and innovative peripherals,” said Sam Tramiel,
CEO of Atari Corporation. “By the end of the year, players
will

link multiple systems, play each other over the phone and
venture into new virtual reality environments with their
Jaguar systems.”

Networking Jaguar systems through use of the Jag Link
cable enables the playing of network compatible Jaguar
games on different systems up to 100 feet away from each
other. The Jag Link cable system can support at least two
simultaneous game players at once, depending on the
software. The system uses standard RJ11 phone line cable
to link two Jaguar interactive game systems and imple-
ments reliable differential pair technology. The Jag Link
cable is expected to be available for sale in the second
quarter of 1995 at a suggested retail price of $29.99.

The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator allows players to
link to each other over the phone. The new technology, de-
veloped with Phylon Communications, Inc., leaders in the
fax/modem/Vvoice technology field, not only permits two
players to play against each other using the phone con-
nection, but to speak with each other by using a headset.
By utilizing a ,,call waiting“ feature, users can also pause

407

a game to answer a phone call. The Jaguar Voice/Data
Communicator comes complete with a stereo headset and
is expected to be available by the third quarter 1995 at a
suggested retail price of less than $150.

Also planned for 1995 delivery is Atari‘s virtual reality
headset, now under development with Virtuality Group
plc, the leader in virtual reality technology and arcade
games. The two companies officially joined forces in
October to create the world‘s first immersive virtual real-
ity games for the home market.

The virtual reality headset should be available to consum-
ers by Christmas 1995 with a targeted price of less than
$200.

Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia entertainment sys-
tems, including Jaguar, the world's first and only 64-bit game system,
and the only video game system manufactured in the United States. Atari

is headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94089.

408

Coming attractions for Atari Jaguar

Sunnyvale, CA — January 6, 1995 — Batman Forever, Thea
Realm Fighters and Primal Rage top the list of coming
attractions for the 64-bit Atari Jaguar Interactive Multi-
media system in 1995.

“The focus at Atari for 1995 is great software and lots of
it,” said Sam Tramiel, CEO of Atari Corporation. “We are
working with over 200 developers to bring a wide variety
of new games to the 64-bit Atari Jaguar in 1995. The
powerful Jaguar technology can handle popular arcade
games like Primal Rage or provide the speed and graphics
necessary for brand new games like Batman Forever and
Thea Realm Fighters.”

Batman Forever, based on the much-anticipated Warner
Bros. movie scheduled for release this summer, pits the
caped crusader and his sidekick Robin against Gotham
City villains Two-Face and the Riddler. The Atari Jaguar
Batman Forever game will incorporate the movie's char-
acters and feature the films newly-designed costumes and
high-tech equipment.

Market research demonstrates that over 90% of the U.S.
population is familiar with the Batman character, so
there will be wide appeal for the game. Batman Forever is
scheduled for delivery to stores late in the 3rd quarter.

Thea Realm Fighters combines the latest digital motion
capture technology and nationally known martial arts

fighters, including several used for both Mortal Kombat
games, to create a super-realistic fighting game. Among

409

the well-known martial artists used for the game are:

¢ Ho Sung Pak, who played Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat I
& II, is a member of the Black Belt Hall of Fame and win-
ner of the Grand Slam of Martial Arts in 1991, and served
as technical advisor for choreography.

¢ Phillip Ahn, MD, is a 4th degree black belt in Tae Kwon
Do. Dr. Ahn played Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat II.

¢ Katalin Zamiar played Kitana, Mileena and Jade in Mor-
tal Kombat II. Katalin is a black belt in Okinawan style
Karate.

* Daniel Pesina, who played Johnny Cage and the ninjas in
Mortal Kombat I & II, is a nationally ranked martial artist
in forms and weapons.

There are a total of 25-plus characters to compete against
in Thea Realm Fighters, including twelve main characters
and twelve other special characters. The characters can
compete in four different modes and with more than 30
different backgrounds, creating a wide variety of combat
situations and scenarios. The release of Thea Realm Fight-
ers is planned for the 3rd quarter.

Primal Rage pits seven different prehistoric creatures

— each with its own unique fighting style — against each
other in a battle for world domination. This one or two
player game was a huge hit in the video arcade market last
year. Time Warner Interactive plans to ship a compact
disc version of Primal Rage in the 4th quarter.

410

‘Power Drive Rally’ and ‘Striker ‘95’ Preview at the
Winter Consumer Electronics Show

Las Vegas, NV, January 6, 1995 — Today at the Consumer
Electronics Show, Time Warner Interactive, Inc., Games
Division announced the preview of two popular titles de-
veloped by Rage Software of the U.K. “Power Drive Rally,”
a fiery car racing game, takes you on the international
touring circuit in search of competitive times, major prize
money, and increasingly sleeker racing machines. A hit on
the Super Nintendo Entertainment System®, Time War-
ner Interactive is previewing a new version for the Atari™
Jaguar™. The second Rage title is “Striker ‘95,” a fast-ac-
tion soccer game known for the authenticity of its player
movements and responsive controls. The U.S. version

will feature a new element of game-play with an intrigu-
ing management strategy option. “Striker “95” is under
development for the IBM® PC and compatible systems
on CD-ROM and diskette formats. Both titles are being
shown at the St. Tropez hotel in Time Warner Interactive's
suite 2903.

“We're excited about working with Rage Software and
licensing two titles with a proven track record. Both sold
very well in Europe and should have a strong following in
the U.S. because of their competitive feature-sets, and the
popularity of both sports,” said Mark Beaumont, Senior
Vice President Product Development and Marketing, Time
Warner Interactive, Games Division.

‘Power Drive Rally’
Take part in the international car racing scene with “Pow-
er Drive Rally.” Contestants are on their own to purchase

4i1

cars, go up against the competition, maintain and upgrade
their vehicles and compete for prize money. Test your rac-
ing skills in three areas: road rallies where you compete
against computer opponents over mixed terrain including
mud, gravel, and asphalt courses; time trials for flat out
speed challenges; and obstacle courses with cones, curves
and a sinister slalom. There are over 50 tracks that will
take you through the world‘s deserts, mountains, and
beach courses in all kinds of tricky weather conditions
including ice, snow, and rain. Realistic graphics promise
details such as shadows, dust clouds, skid marks, brake
lights, and exhaust plumes which makes your maneuvers
around hazardous bends and competitors all the more
gripping. As you progress through the game you will hone
your racing skills and win money to invest in new equip-
ment and vehicles. There are six cars and each handles in
a slightly different manner with unique cornering, accel-
eration, and road handling capabilities. Power Drive Rally
is expected in May 1995 on the Atari Jaguar and will be
available at retail outlets.

‘Striker “95”

“Striker ‘95,” an internationally popular soccer game, is
now moving to the U.S. with a more powerful software
engine, robust graphics in 256 SVGA color, zoom-in cam-
era shots and a genuine stadium atmosphere. This sports
game features fluid, rotoscoped player animations run-
ning at 10 frames per second and improved artificial intel-
ligence for better playability resulting in a game with re-
alistic action. Options include eight different formations,
each available with a choice of six team strategies, plus
you can select from eight different ball control methods

412

including: passing, normal and overhead kicks, standing,
jumping, and diving headers as well as chesting the ball
down. “Striker “95” also offers a big new challenge -- you'll
not only play a fast paced, no holds barred game of soccer
but you'll also manage the team. This strategy option has
you building up cash reserves to buy hot talent, trading
players, dealing with injuries, and having a word or two
with the referee. “Striker “95” has an expected ship date of
April 1995 and an estimated street price of $49.95.

Time Warner Interactive, Inc., a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., devel-
ops and publishes interactive consumer entertainment products that
span across platforms from location-based and video arcade games, to
video game cartridges and computer platforms. All product names are

trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

413

Sports titles coming from Atari

Sunnyvale, CA — January 6, 1995 — Baseball for 1995 may
be uncertain and the National Hockey League still is not
playing, but there will be sports galore on the 64-bit Atari
Jaguar this spring and summer. Atari Corporation today
announced that a number of new sports titles will be re-
leased in the first half of 1995.

“We're going for the gold with sports-oriented games at
Atari this year,” said Sam Tramiel, CEO of Atari Corpo-
ration. “Atari Jaguar owners will play hockey with Brett
Hull, golf with Jack Nicklaus, basketball with Charles
Barkley and all the baseball they want.”

Sports games currently under development include:
Charles Barkley-Shut Up and Jam takes an in-your-face,
over-the-top approach to America‘s favorite indoor sport.
Players will encounter some of the baddest b-ball players
on the streets as they try to rule the game‘s 2 on 2 street-
ball tournament. Charles Barkley-Shut Up and Jam is
expected by the end of the second quarter.

Brett Hull Hockey features super-realistic, digitized
graphics and a real-time 3-D hockey rink. Available on
CD, Brett Hull Hockey will provide the most realistic
hockey video game simulation ever. Look for Brett Hull
Hockey to arrive in stores by the end of June.

Hardball Baseball will provide a graphically and statisti-
cally true-to-life simulation of real baseball. Players will
have the added option of customizing teams and schedul-
ing themselves for one game, a playoff series or an entire

414

season. Special software builds players‘ statistics as games

New Atari Sports Titles are played making Hardball
Baseball even more realistic. Atari plans to ship Hardball
Baseball before the 1995 All-Star game, if there is one this
year.

Jack Nicklaus Cyber Golf, a CD title, is a photo-realistic
golf game for the Jaguar that utilizes over 9,000 images of
Murfield Village Golf Course. This course is the first that
Jack Nicklaus created and is the site of the annual Me-
morial Tournament. Well-known sports presenter David
Livingston acts as a virtual commentator to teach the first-
time player how to play the game or provide comments
and suggestions for the more experienced players. Up to a
foursome can play Jack Nicklaus Cyber Golf, and the CD is
expected to ship late this spring.

Additional sport titles scheduled for the first half of 1995
include Troy Aikman NFL Football (Williams Entertain-
ment), White Men Can‘t Jump (TriMark), CD League
Bowling (V Real) and Sensible Soccer (Telegames).

is headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94089.

415

Hyper Image announces revolutionary new Jag-
uar Game — Hover Hunter

College Park, MD — Febuary 6th, 1995 — The design team
at Hyper Image Productions has announced their upcom-
ing debut game-release for the 64-bit Atari Jaguar plat-
form entitled “Hover Hunter”. Set in the not so distant
future, Hover Hunter is a lightning paced hovertank
simulator that allows players to fly through multiple mis-
sions filled with fleets of enemy vehicles. Realistic three
dimensional environments are created using “Displace-
ment Texture Mapping”, an advanced rendering technique
developed by Hyper Image that takes current landscape
rendering technlogy one step further. Hover Hunter

will also be among the first Jaguar games with full net-
work support allowing for multiplayer combat over the
CatBox‘s CatNet™.

Hover Hunter sets the game-player in the cockpit of a
technologically advanced hovertank fully outfitted with

a wide choice of powerful weaponry and computer fea-
tures. Using advanced piloting skills and devastating
firepower, the player must do battle to protect and further
the interests of his employer, a powerful corporate-state
bent on global conquest and domination. Deadly foes sent
by rival companies await on each landscape as the player
completes action-packed missions and steadily advances
further into the storyline of the game.

“T‘m really excited at the prospect of showcasing our
talented development team and next generation gaming
technology to the public,” says Jeremy Gordon, president
and senior programmer of Hyper Image Productions. “Not

416

only will Hover Hunter be a an absolute adrenaline rush,
but I think it will also demonstrate Hyper Image‘s dedica-
tion to continually pushing the edge of gaming standards.”
Slated for relase in the summer of 1995, Hyper Image will
be showcasing their game at the E3 show in Los Angeles.

To go along with the official announcement of our Jaguar
title, “Hover Hunter”, I want to personally invite anyone
who's interested to check out our world wide web page;
http://www.hyperimage.com (http://hyperimage.com
works also).

There are some general tidbits that may be of interest, and
also a whole bunch of cool screen shots (grabbed via s-
video by a really killer new JPEG board). The screen shots
are also available via anonymous ftp to ftp.hyperimage.
com in the /pub/HoverHunter directory (again, ftp‘ing to
hyperimage.com works too). Some small MPEG movies
will be made available really soon.

The game is still very early (about 35% complete in these
shots from the Winter CES) although we are counting on
completion for the E3 show.

Look for a preview in the March issue of Video Games

magazine, and maybe a few shots in the March Die Hard
Game Fan...

417

Six outstanding new Third Party Jaguar titles to
hit Store Shelves!

Sunnyvale, CA — February 7, 1995 — Over the next 45
days, the first major wave of third party software for the
64-bit Atari Jaguar will be launched, marking another
important step in the expansion of the Jaguar library of
software. Sam Tramiel, President of Atari Corporation,
stated, “We are very excited to see our third party partners
coming to market with these new titles for the Jaguar
platform. This is only the beginning of many great games
that will be coming in the next wave of releases from our
third party partners.”

“Cannon Fodder”, expected in stores by February 24th,
leads the pack of six exciting new third-party titles to be
shipped within the first quarter. For the sports enthusi-
asts, Telegames introduces “International Sensible Soc-
cer” as an interactive game version of the fastest growing
commercial sport in the United States. Just following one
of the most exciting football seasons, Williams Entertain-
ment introduces the Jaguar version of “Troy Aikman Foot-
ball”. Electronic Gaming Monthly says of “Troy Aikman
Football”, “...the Jaguar version is the best yet.” Saturday
morning cartoon fans will recognize the fighting lineup in
eye-popping animated action with “Double Dragon V” by
Williams Entertainment. For those who prefer strategic
challenges with intense graphics and hypnotic animated
sequences, Ocean of America delivers two great titles,
“Syndicate” and “Theme Park”. In “Syndicate”, you are
an executive in charge of a team of mind-altered Cyborgs
and “Theme Park” enables you to engineer the ultimate
amusement park.

418

“These new titles give the consumer a new wider range of
selection on the Atari Jaguar Multimedia platform,” said
Mr. Tramiel. “The Jaguar now has an excellent intro-
duction of sports, strategy and general interest software
provided by some of the most respected publishers in the
industry with much more to come throughout 1995.”

Here is a closer look at these great new titles:

“Cannon Fodder”: War has never been so much fun. The
first of a new caliber of games published by Computer
West, “Cannon Fodder” is a product brought to us from
the innovative people at Virgin. Command your company
through enemy territories and hostile environments;
jungles, swamps and frozen wastelands. Highlights of this
whimsical and entertaining approach to war are: Over 300
conscripts with different skills, 72 phases of action, 24
different missions, an animated introduction, an ambient
soundtrack complete with the howling of icy winds and a
projected minimum of 50 hours to complete the game by
most gamers.

“...probably the most addicting game since Lemmings.”,
Electronic Gaming Monthly.

“Troy Aikman Football”: Troy Aikman‘s rendition of foot-
ball on the 64-bit Jaguar may be the most intense pigskin
action you have ever played. Brought to the high-end gam-
ing world from the ground-breaking minds at Williams
Entertainment, “Troy Aikman Football” breaks new bar-
riers in sports entertainment. Up-to-date with 1995 rules
and regulations, players choose among all 28 NFL teams,
three season modes, multiple difficulty levels, 54 offensive

419

and 27 defensive configurations, six field options, vari-
able quarter lengths, and more... and that’s all before the
excitement really begins! For 1 or 2 players.

“_..the Jaguar version (of ‘Troy Aikman Football’) is the
best yet.”, Electronic Gaming Monthly.

“Syndicate”: There‘s a new kind of brutal reality amidst
the sinister underworld and only Ocean can take you there
with 64-bit intensity of the Atari Jaguar. Players assume
the role of an ambitious executive in the Syndicate. Your
mission is to lead a team of mind-altered Cyborg merce-
naries to infiltrate opposing Syndicate territories. Your
specific objective is to gain as much control of the world as
possible, street by street, city by city, country by country,
bit by bit.

“...ultra-cool ...better than the Genesis...”, Game Players
Magazine.

“Theme Park”: You‘ve been there just to visit, but now
you will build one from the ground up. Ocean gives you
access to a virtual world where you can design, build and
operate your own amusement park. You choose the land,
hire staff, build the rides, manage the novelty shops, and
become solely responsible if anything ever goes tragically
wrong.

“anyone who enjoys designing things is gonna love this
game.”, Game Players Magazine.

“Double Dragon V”: Williams Entertainment has cre-
ated an exciting new fighting game based on the Saturday

420

morning Amazin‘ Adventures Series cartoon hit, Double
Dragon. The Shadow Master is ready for battle. After
reading the character dossiers, players customize game
play and attributes to create fighting machines never
before seen on any gaming platform. For 1 or 2 players,
there are multiple levels of game play, 10 different battle
locations, 12 unique characters, and over a dozen different
musical scores.

“Smooth-as-silk graphics; kid‘s will love controlling their
favorite cartoon characters on the Jaguar.”, Atari Explorer
Online.

“International Sensible Soccer”: Telegames has captured
World Soccer excitement in the most addictive soccer
simulation ever. It is complete with international roster
profiles and fully editable teams. Select between “Friend-
ly”, “Cup” or “League” simulations in 1 or 2 player head to
head competitions; all with 8 channel/16-bit sound to put
you right on the playing field. This game delivers a fast 60
frames per second for smooth scrolling and crisp anima-
tion. This is a “must” game for 64-bit sports game enthu-
siasts.

“For some of the most intense soccer action on the Jaguar,

try Telegames‘ Sensible Soccer... one of the many exciting
games for the Jaguar system.”, EGM2.

421

Atari Corporation announces results for the Year
and Fourth Quarter 1994

Sunnyvale, CA — March 13 — Atari Corporation reported
today its results for the year and fourth quarter ended
December 31, 1994.

For the year ended 1994, NET SALES were $38.4 million
as compared to $28.8 million for the year ended 1993, an
increase of 33%. Increased sales were a result of the sales
of Jaguar, the Company‘s 64-bit multi-media interactive
entertainment system and related software. Primarily as a
result of settlements of patent litigations, the Company re-
ported NET INCOME for the year 1994 of $9.4 million as
compared to a NET LOSS for 1993 of $48.9 million.

For the fourth quarter 1994, NET SALES were $14.9 mil-
lion as compared to $8.5 million for 1993, a 75% increase.
Primarily due to significant marketing expenses of $8.0
million and an inventory valuation adjustment of $3.6
million, the Company incurred an operating loss of $12.6
million in 1994 as compared to $21.9 million operating
loss for the fourth quarter of 1993. As a result of the Com-
pany‘s ongoing research and development, the wholesale
price of Jaguar was reduced in the first quarter of 1995 to
allow retailers to sell Jaguar at a price of $159.99. Accord-
ingly, the Company has adjusted the value of its existing
inventory and anticipated purchases through the period
until cost reductions become effective. During the fourth
quarter of 1994, the Company closed its transactions with
Sega Enterprises Ltd. which resulted in an income item of
$29.8 million after contingent legal expenses and the sale
of approximately 4.7 million shares of the Company stock

422

for $40.0 million. As of December 31, 1994, the Company
had $81.0 million in cash and marketable securities and
shareholders‘ equity of $67.1 million. As a result of the
items previously discussed, the Company reported for the
fourth quarter of 1994, NET INCOME of $17.6 million as
compared to a NET LOSS of $22.6 million for 1993.

Commenting, Sam Tramiel, Atari Corp. president, said,
“We are very pleased to offer Jaguar for $159.99, thereby
making new 64-bit technology competitively priced
against older 16-bit systems. Although we are disappoint-
ed that our expectations for Jaguar were not met in the
fourth quarter due to delayed game software, we believe
we have taken corrective actions to ensure an ongoing
stream of software through 1995 and beyond. Today, we
have announced a publishing arrangement with Williams
Entertainment for ‘Mortal Kombat IIT’ and will be an-
nouncing another significant arrangement with a major
software publisher shortly. Those titles, along with some
of Jaguar‘s current hit titles such as ‘Tempest 2000,’
‘Alien vs. Predator,’ ‘Doom’ and ‘Val d‘Isere Skiing’ will be
added to the list of titles that will be available for Jaguar.”

423

Jaguar to get Mortal Kombat III

Sunnyvale, CA — March 13 — Atari Corp. and Williams
Entertainment Inc. are pleased to announce that Atari will
be publishing “Mortal Kombat III” for the Atari Jaguar
64-bit multimedia system. “Mortal Kombat” is one of the
most frequently requested video game titles from Jaguar
enthusiasts.

“Letters have been pouring in daily telling us that gam-
ers want ‘Mortal Kombat’ for the Atari Jaguar,” indicated
Sam Tramiel, president of Atari Corp. “We at Atari are
dedicated to the mission of giving the enthusiastic Jaguar
game players exactly what they are looking for and ‘Mortal
Kombat IIT will give them the latest version of the ‘Mortal
Kombat series of arcade hits.”

“Mortal Kombat III” is the third in a series of outstanding
coin-op games incorporating true-to-life graphic images
into a challenging fighting experience. Williams Enter-
tainment Inc. is the home video subsidiary of WMS Indus-
tries Inc., the company that created “Mortal Kombat” and
“NBA Jam” for the arcades.

“Mortal Kombat III” for the Atari Jaguar will feature true-
color graphics and all the sounds and action of the arcade
version of “Mortal Kombat III.” Planned release will be
within the second quarter of 1996.

Williams Entertainment already has other popular video
game titles scheduled for release on the Jaguar platform.
“Troy Aikman Football” is currently available to be fol-
lowed up shortly by “Double Dragon V.”

424

Electronic Gaming Monthly says of “Troy Aikman Foot-
ball,” “... the Jaguar version is the best yet.” Saturday
morning cartoon fans will recognize the fighting lineup in
“Double Dragon V” with eye-popping animated action.

Other software hits being developed in partnership be-
tween Williams Entertainment and Atari Corp. include
new adaptations of classic games such as “Joust” and “De-
fender.” “Defender 2000” is being developed with three
distinct play modes (the classic favorite, “Defender Plus,”
and “Defender 2000”) for the Jaguar by Jeff Minter of
“Tempest 2000” fame. According to Bill Rehbock, Atari‘s
VP of Software Business Development, “‘Dactyl Joust’ will
bring the classic game alive as a first person perspective,
fully texture-mapped Joust in a realistic, three dimension-
al environment.” Atari will market these games for the
64-bit Jaguar system while Williams Entertainment will
license and market them for high performance PCs.

These distinct agreements between Atari Corp. and Wil-
liams Entertainment are indicative of the strong relation-
ship these two companies have established. Williams
Entertainment is one of the first third-party licensees to
begin working with Atari on the Jaguar 64-bit platform
and remains a strong supporter of the system with top
software titles.

Atari Corp. markets interactive multimedia entertainment systems,
including Jaguar, the world‘s first and only 64-bit system and the only
video game system manufactured in the United States. Atari is headquar-

tered at 1196 Borregas Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94089.

425

Atari announces mass market price for 64-bit
Jaguar

Sunnyvale, CA — March 21, 1995 — Atari Corporation
today announced that the 64-Bit Jaguar Interactive Mul-
timedia system will have a suggested retail price of under
$160. This Atari Jaguar system will be called the “64-Bit
Power Kit” and includes the Jaguar console, a control-
ler, power adapter and video cable (game cartridge not
included). “64-Bit Power Kit” packages will be specially
marked to highlight the “Mega-Power, Maximum Value”
that the new price point represents.

“With this new Jaguar price, and the great software
now available in stores — with more to come — the Atari
Jaguar will lead the next generation of video games into
the homes of America. This price puts the 64-Bit Jaguar
within the grasp of a broad market looking for the most
advanced system at an affordable price,” said Sam Tra-
miel, President of Atari.

Technological advances have allowed Atari to take this
aggressive pricing action, as the cost of components has
been reduced through a planned chip set integration and
further design advances.

Tramiel further stated, “We are very excited to provide
these great values, and look forward to strong sales for
both the 64-Bit Jaguar Hardware and Jaguar software.
The current library includes such major hits as ‘Tempest
2000’, ‘Alien Vs. Predator’, ‘Doom’, “Troy Aikman
Football’, “Val D‘Tsere Skiing’ and ‘Iron Soldier’. As the
Jaguar software library increases with great titles like

426

‘Fight For Life’, ‘Hover Strike’, ‘Rayman’ and ‘Super Burn-
out’, we expect solid hardware sales growth. Our Retail
Dealers are equally excited about the new pricing, and
anticipate that a broad base of consumers will rush to the
store to buy the Jaguar.”

To launch the new Jaguar unit, Atari will deliver a target-
ed marketing campaign to build awareness of the new Jag-
uar system value and the great current games (and pend-
ing new titles). Advertising is scheduled to commence in
the spring. Special in store merchandising materials have
been developed to reinforce the Mega-Power/Maximum
Value message and encourage the consumer to “Do the
Math”.

Atari Corporation markets the Jaguar, the world‘s first and only 64-Bit
interactive multimedia entertainment system. Atari is headquarters at
1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94089.

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-
mark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks or

registered trademarks of their owning companies.

427

Atari and Acclaim join forces in major Software
Distribution Agreement

Sunnyvale, CA — March 22, 1995 — Atari Corporation and
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. are proud to announce an
agreement which will bring the most popular contempo-
rary video game titles to the 64-bit Atari Jaguar Multime-
dia system. The new alliance includes three stellar Acclaim
titles that Atari will distribute:

e NBA Jam - Tournament Edition
- planned release: fourth quarter, 1995

¢ Frank Thomas ‘Big Hurt’ Baseball
- planned release: fourth quarter, 1995.

¢ The third title will be announced later this year for re-
lease in early 1996.

“Atari‘s focus will continue to be to deliver great software
on the world‘s best video game system available. The
agreement with Acclaim is substantial milestone in our
commitment to the Jaguar gamer,” stated Sam Tramiel,
CEO of Atari Corporation. “We are delighted to work
with Acclaim and to include these titles in the expanding
library of Jaguar sports and action games.”

NBA Jam — Tournament Edition

With more than 100 NBA players, cross-court slam dunks,
new codes and secret characters, Jaguar gamers will not
only play basketball, they'll feel it with this fast-paced ac-
tion experience that features incredible graphics.

428

Frank Thomas ‘Big Hurt’ Baseball

Two-time MVP Frank Thomas headlines this innovative
title that will feature Thomas‘ actual baseball movements
using Acclaim‘s motion capture technology.

Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia en-
tertainment systems and software including Jaguar, the
world‘s first and only 64-bit system, and the only video
game system manufactured in the United States. Atari
is headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale,
California 94089.

Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. with offices in Canada,
France, Germany, Japan, Spain and the United King-
dom, is a leading worldwide entertainment publisher of
software and peripherals for major video game hardware
systems, personal computer and CD-ROM software, coin-
operated arcade games, and comic books. Acclaim also op-
erates motion capture and blue screen studios and A.D.I.,
a global sales and distribution company for products from
a variety of entertainment publishers, including Acclaim,
Digital Pictures and Marvel Software. Acclaim, which re-
cently formed a new company with Tele-Communications,
Inc. is publicly traded on the NASDAQ National Market
System under the Symbol AKLM.

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is registered trademark
of Atari Corporation. Other product named may be trademarks or regis-
tered trademarks of their owning companies.

429

Tempest 2000 Soundtrack now available on Com-
pact Disc

Sunnyvale, CA — March 27, 1995 — Atari Corporation

has remastered and issued on compact disc (CD) the
soundtrack of its best-selling video game “Tempest 2000”.
The special edition audio compact disc is available at se-
lect Atari retailers and from Atari‘s Customer Service
Department. The game music has proven to be a favorite
among dance and rave audiences worldwide.

“Game players liked the soundtrack to “Tempest 2000’ so
much, they asked us to issue it on audio CD,” said James
Grunke, Director of Music and Audio at Atari Corporation.
“The music composed for video games and the musicians
who perform it are gaining increasing and well-deserved
recognition. We believe that the Tempest soundtrack is

a masterpiece and a milestone in video game music.”

“Tempest 2000 Soundtrack” contains a total of 12 tracks
based on the music from different stages of the “Tem-

pest 2000” video game. Hallucinatory, hypnotic, and
sometimes harrowing, the “Tempest 2000 Soundtrack”
includes new and expanded versions of the game music, as
well as new compositions. The 12 selections are as follows:

1. Thermal Resolution 3:59

2. Mind‘s Eye 4:52
3. T2K 5:23
4. Ease Yourself 7:52
5. Tracking Depth 5:04

6. Constructive
Demolition 4:05

430

7. Future Tense 5:54

8. Digital Terror 5:07
9. Hyper Prism 4:26
10. Glide Control 5:12
11. Ultra Yak 4:00
12. 2000 Dub 7:31

The CD is produced and published by Atari Corporation.
The executive producer of The Soundtrack is John Skruch.
The production director is James Grunke. The “Tempest
2000 Soundtrack” CD features music originally composed
by musicians from Imagitec Design, Inc., West Yorkshire,
U.K..

For more information or to order a copy, write “Tempest
2000 Soundtrack”, Atari Corporation, P.O. Box 61657,
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1657. The compact disc is priced at
$12.99 plus $3.50 shipping and handling. Inquiries from
distributors and radio stations are welcome.

Atari Corporation markets interactive multimedia en-
tertainment systems, including Jaguar, the world‘s only
64-bit game system, and the only video game system
manufactured in the United States. Atari is headquartered
at 1196 Borregas Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94089.

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-

mark of Atari Corporation. Other products named may be trademarks or

registered trademarks of their owning companies.

431

Atari Corporation adds two top industry Veterans
to Senior Management Team

Sunnyvale, CA — May 1, 1995 — Atari Corporation has
powered up its senior management team with the addition
of top industry veterans Dean Fox and Jon Correll. Mr.
Fox comes on board as Senior Vice President of Marketing
and Correll as Vice President of Software Product Devel-
opment.

“The formidable skills and experience of Dean Fox and
Jon Correll will provide Atari with a focused marketing
plan and the development of the highest quality soft-
ware for the consumer, taking full advantage of Jaguar‘s
capability including 60 FPS, 16 million colors and 64 Bit
Processing,” Sam Tramiel, CEO, Atari Corporation said in
making the announcement.

Prior to joining Atari Corporation, Correll held the posi-
tion of Manager of Development Administration for Sega
of America. At Sega, Correll implemented and negotiated
development contracts and produced the first CD titles for
Sega Corporation including “Night Trap”.

Correll began his career in the software and gaming in-
dustry as Manager of Product Development for Accolade
in 1986. While at Accolade, Correll produced some of the
company‘s most popular games including “Test Drive” and
“Mean 18 Golf”. Correll went on to consult various Silicon
Valley companies including EPYX and worked as Director
of Product Development for Three-Sixty.

Before joining Atari, Mr. Fox founded, staffed, and led

432

the marketing group for Rocket Science Games. Prior to
RSG, Fox directed the launch for Sega CD and led ongo-
ing strategic marketing, product concept and distribution
consultation for several CD-ROM multimedia entertain-
ment publishers.

In his marketing and advertising tenure, Fox contributed
to the introductions of many consumer products, includ-
ing Sony Betamax and JVC VHS Videocassette recorders,
Sharp laptop computers, and Sega CD multimedia game
systems.

Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty years. Today,

Atari markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-Bit enter-

tainment system. Atari Corporation is located in Sunnyvale CA.

433

Atari and Virtuality preview first Virtual Reality
Game System for the Consumer Market at E3

Los Angeles — May 11, 1995 — The Jaguar VR, the world‘s
first fully immersive virtual reality game system for the
consumer market, was unveiled today at E3. It is being
developed jointly by Atari Corporation, developer of the
world‘s first 64-bit game system, and VIRTUALITY Group
ple, the global market leader in VR systems.

The Jaguar VR incorporates VIRTUALITY‘s revolutionary
new VR head-mounted display (HMD) and optional track
joystick, offering unequaled display, audio, and tracking
features. Atari‘s Jaguar VR sets an impressive industry
standard for home virtual reality systems and has been
designed with the highest international health and safety
regulations in mind.

According to Sam Tramiel, President of Atari, “There is
not one consumer VR product that can compete with the
Jaguar in terms of price, performance and quality. The
Jaguar VR has been designed with human factors in mind
and sets the standard for the industry to follow. We are
committed to delivering great experiences and entertain-
ment.”

The proprietary, ergonomic HMD weighs less than 1
pound and easily adjusts to comfortably fit users, with

or without glasses. It features a custom-designed optical
pupil projection system and a full-color active matrix LCD
screen. In addition, the HMD‘s 3D spatialized sound sys-
tem has been enhanced by placing speakers at the player‘s
temple, with sound projected back to the ears allowing for

434

peripheral hearing. A built-in microphone allows net-
worked players to talk to each other.

A docking station, which links the Atari Jaguar system

to the HMD and joystick, houses the technologically
advanced “V-Trak” infrared tracking. This is the fastest
tracker ever developed for consumer application, reacting
to real-time head and hand movements with no percep-
tible lag time in the virtual world.

In addition, Jaguar VR is designed to be used only when a
player is sitting with the unit stationary on a flat surface.
If a player attempts to walk around while immersed in the
game, an automatic cutoff will be triggered.

Players who own an Atari Jaguar will be able to to upgrade
by plugging Jaguar VR into their existing system. The
Jaguar VR has a targeted retail price of $300.

Jaguar VR Software Development

Through a software licensing agreement, VIRTUALITY is
developing immersive virtual reality games for the Atari
Jaguar VR. Atari‘s classic home and arcade hit “Missile
Command’ is being recreated in VR format by VIRTUAL-
ITY and will be available by the end of the year. In addi-
tion, the popular VIRTUALITY arcade title “Zone Hunter”
will also be available for Jaguar VR with the system intro-
duction. Discussions are also underway with a number of
third-party developers for the creation of future games
that take advantage of this unique technology to create
new experiences.

“The combination of Jaguar‘s 64-bit graphics processing

435

power and our IVR technology has produced a phenom-
enal, fully integrated VR consumer product which has no
competition,” said Jon Waldern, CEO of VIRTUALITY
Group ple. “This system expands the boundaries of the in-
home interactive games market and sets a new standard
for others to try to achieve.

Founded in 1987 in Leicester, England, VIRTUALITY
Group plc. is the world‘s leader in immersive virtual real-
ity entertainment systems worth more than 80 percent
global market share. VIRTUALITY Entertainment, Inc.
headquartered in Irving, Texas, was established in 1993 as
the U.S.-based subsidiary to oversee all North American
operations, sales, market development and distribution
for its parent company.

Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty years. Today,

Atari markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-Bit enter-

tainment system. Atari Corporation is located in Sunnyvale CA.

436

Atari continues to expand Jaguar Peripherals

Sunnyvale, CA — May 11, 1995 — Atari continues to provide
new gaming options for owners of its 64-bit Jaguar Inter-
active Entertainment System. Key products to enhance the
Jaguar play experience hit the marketplace in 1995, with
many more to come. “Since Jaguar has already made the
leap to 64-bit technology, we can now focus on providing
even more value to consumers by expanding the system
with new and innovative peripherals,” says Sam Tramiel,
CEO of Atari Corporation.

One of the Jaguar extras is the much anticipated multi-
media compact disc (CD) player. Priced at approximately
$150, the Jaguar CD player attaches to the top of the Jag-
uar console. The Jaguar CD plays many new CD games,
including “Battlemorph”, “Highlander”, “Blue Lightning”,
“Demolition Man”, “Myst”, and “Creature Shock” in addi-
tion to playing standard audio disks. The Jaguar CD play-
er provides 790 megabytes of raw data storage, allowing
video game programmers to incorporate more complex
digitized images, full-motion video sequences and high-
quality audio soundtracks. This powerful double-speed
CD player also provides fast access speed for smoother
game play, and its massive data capacity gives users better
graphic detail, expanded plot lines and more characters
for an overall enhanced video game experience. Addition-
ally, built into the unit is the “Virtual Light Machine™”,
which creates and displays 81 different light patterns on
the video screen in response to music played through the
system.

Mr. Tramiel says about the system, “The combination of

437

the most advanced technology, sophisticated software and
affordable consumer pricing sets Jaguar apart from all
competitors.” Target ship date for the CD player is August,
1995.

For around $30, Jaguar owners can take advantage of the
Jag Link™, which allows users to play competitively side-
by-side. The Jag Link enables users to connect two Jaguar
systems for simultaneous game playing up to 100 feet
apart. The Jag Link uses standard RJ11 phone line cable
for linking two Jaguar systems.

Team Tap™ is a new peripheral that for around $25 en-
ables competitive, simultaneous play for up to four players
on one Jaguar. The peripheral, which debuts with the new
title “White Men Can‘t Jump”, provides players with a
two-on-two playground simulation experience. With two
Jaguar systems and Team Tap, the competitive play can
be expanded up to eight players.

In addition, the Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator gives
players the ability to link up over the phone. Developed

by fax-modem-voice technology experts, Phylon Com-
munications, the new technology permits two players to
compete using a phone connection. Players can speak with
each other during game play through the use of a headset.
With the utilization of a “call waiting” feature, players can
also pause a game to answer a phone call.

Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty years. Today,

Atari markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-Bit enter-

tainment system. Atari Corporation is located in Sunnyvale CA.

438

Atari Jaguar‘s library approaches 100 titles in
1995

Sunnyvale, CA — May 11, 1995 — Atari Corporation an-
nounces that there will be nearly 100 titles for its 64-bit
Jaguar entertainment system by the end of the year. “We
will have every kind of game that players want, from the
best developers and publishers in the world.” comments
Atari President Sam Tramiel.

Based on the popularity of “Tempest 2000”, Atari is
launching a complete line of classic games, including
“Dactyl Joust” and “Defender 2000”, and “Missile Com-
mand VR” for the Jaguar VR. “Defender 2000” is being
developed with three distinct play modes for the Jaguar
by Jeff Minter, developer of “Tempest 2000”. In addition,
Atari will publish classic games for the PC at the end of
the year, beginning with “Tempest 2000”. Other new
release titles include “Primal Rage” from Time Warner
Interactive, the “Highlander” RPG series, “Fight for Life”
and “NBA Jam Tournament Edition”.

The featured titles at Atari Corporation‘s E3 booth in Los
Angeles are “TRF”, “Rayman”, “White Men Can‘t Jump”
and “Ultra Vortex”.

TRF: TRF combines the latest motion capture technol-
ogy and nationally known martial arts fighters in a wide
variety of combat scenarios. Featured fighters include Ho
Sung Pak, Dr. Philip Ahn, Katalin Zamiar and Daniel Pe-
sina; who were all featured in the “Mortal Kombat” games.

RAYMAN: Rayman lives in a fantasy land beyond the

439

reaches of our universe. Rayman must restore peace and
harmony to his world by defeating the evil Mr. Black and
retrieve the stolen Great Proton.

WHITE MEN CAN‘T JUMP: Trash talk runs rampant

in this “in-your-face”, two-on-two blacktop basketball
shootout. Automatic camera control zooms in and swings
around to catch all the action.

ULTRA VORTEX: Players become one of the ten eye-pop-
ping, bone crunching warriors of the underground who
battle it out in mind-bending arenas carved out of living
rock. They have one goal in mind: Defeat the dreaded
Guardian of the Vortex.

Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty years. Today,
Atari markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-Bit enter-
tainment system. Atari Corporation is located in Sunnyvale CA.

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-
mark of Atari Corporation. Other products may be trademarks of their

owning companies.

Primal Rage™ and all related elements are property of Time Warner
Interactive™.

Rayman™ is a trademark of UBI Soft.

Ultra Vortex™ is a trademark of Beyond Games, Inc.

440

Power Drive Rally by TWI

Los Angeles, CA — May 11, 1995 — Time Warner Interactive
Inc., Consumer Games Division announced the preview of
“Power Drive Rally™” for the Atari™ Jaguar™ today at the
E3 tradeshow in suite 309. Flying gravel, spraying mud,
squealing tires announce the arrival of your all-terrain ve-
hicle with opponents in hot pursuit — better not look back!
Based on the official World Rally Championships, players
jockey for competitive times, major prize money, and sleek
racing machines on the international touring circuit. This
high speed, strategic driving game utilizes the power of the
Atari Jaguar to project graphics so detailed you'll feel the
challenge of long distance racing in 38 international road
rally courses. “Power Drive Rally” is expected to ship in
June, 1995 for an anticipated retail price of $54.95.

“Power Drive Rally™” is the classic road rally, a two-mem-
ber team endurance race that makes regular speedway
tracks look like a Sunday drive. Your computerized driving
partner is in charge of the map and barks out directions to
you as you negotiate fallen logs, snow drifts and river beds
making maneuvers around hazardous bends all the more
gripping. The quality of tracks and terrain are vivid with
details such as water pools reflecting the sky and clouds,
tires creating skid marks, shadows, dust clouds, brake
lights, and exhaust plumes.

The Race Is On

“Power Drive Rally” is a one or two-player game, where
racers go head to head on three different types of courses:
road rallies over mixed terrain including mud, gravel,
and asphalt; time trials for flat out speed challenges; and

441

obstacle courses with cones, curves and a sinister slalom.

Cross the start line with a fairly basic vehicle and a small
wad of cash in your pocket. You must tear across a range of
terrain, from the break of day to the dead of night to beat
your opponents, win prize money, and move onto more
challenging vehicles and races. You'll find each vehicle has
its own handling nuances with differences in cornering and
road holding abilities as well as acceleration and decelera-
tion.

You're responsible for repairing and maintaining your cars.
Fail to heed excessive damage and you may be penalized
with disqualification. On the other hand as you accumulate
prize money, you can tirade your car in for a higher spec
model and gain automatic entry to higher levels of compe-
tition.

“Power Drive Rally” lets you really drive — on and off
track. Head off-road and you'll feel the tight turns of doing
a donut in the dirt, or loss of traction as you slide over

ice or grass. Lose control and you might experience a gut
wrenching barrel roll or spectacular wipe out. This is skill-
driving for those with endurance and a sense of competi-
tive adventure. Rest up!

Time Warner Interactive, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner
Inc., develops and publishes interactive consumer entertainment products
that span across platforms from location-based and video arcade games,
to video game cartridges and computer platforms including: Sega™
Genesis™, Sega™ 32X™, Sega™ Game Gear™, Super Nintendo Enter-
tainment System®, Game Boy™, Sony Playstation™, Atari® Jaguar™,
3DO™, CD-ROM for IBM® and compatible computers and Macintosh®)

and interactive TV applications for entertainment and gaming markets.

442

Head-To-Head Fighting Action At E3 Tradeshow
With ‘Primal Rage’ Dominating Home Platforms

Los Angeles, CA — May 11, 1995 — Building off the success
of their hit arcade game, “Primal Rage”™, Time Warner
Interactive, Inc., Consumer Games Division (TWi) today
previewed “Primal Rage” on eight home gaming and com-
puter platforms at the E3 Tradeshow in their suite 308,

in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center.
International distribution for all eight versions demon-
strated, as well as software for three more versions, are
scheduled for release on two dedicated launch dates this
Fall, 1995.

On August 25, the company will release the Sega Gen-
esis™, Super Nintendo Entertainment System®), Sega
Game Gear™, Nintendo® Game Boy™ and PC CD-ROM
versions. November 14 is the date for the second wave

of software on new gaming systems including the Sega
Saturn™, Sega 32X™, 3DO®, Sony® PlayStation™, and
Atari® Jaguar™, as well as the Macintosh®) CD-ROM.

“For a company to support a game on so many platforms
is unprecedented,” commented Mark Beaumont, Senior
Vice President, Marketing and Product Development at
TWi. “We chose to take an aggressive stance following the
reception the game received at the arcades last summer.
We know we have a mega-hit on our hands and will sup-
port the launch with extensive TV and print advertising
campaigns as well as special events and on-line activities.“

Hit Arcade Title Moves Home
“Primal Rage” is a head-to-head fighting game with an

443

original look that features seven fantasy, pre-historic
characters in a battle for supremacy. In creating “Primal
Rage,” TWi went back to the classics to invent something
entirely brand new. Stop-frame animation, the process
long used in Hollywood for movies such as “King Kong”
and employed today for feature film special effects, was
key in creating the game‘s look. The result is life-like pre-
historic characters that move with unmatched fluidity, in
a game loaded with detail and personality.

The popularity of “Primal Rage” goes far beyond the
appeal of the characters. The nearly unlimited fighting
engine makes “Primal Rage” a game with more combina-
tion potential than practically any other fighting game to
date. Each character has an individualized fighting style,
and set of more than 70 moves including: fighting moves,
powerful “secret” moves, masterful combo hits, graphic
finishing sequences, punches, reactions to being punched,
death sequences, victory sequences, and ready poses.

The originality of the characters, the sheer number and
ingenuity of their actions, taken in combination with the
precision of the fighting collision-matrix, come together in
an innovative, and addictive fighting game.

TWi's goal is to have all versions look and play like the
arcade experience. To that end, the original source code

is being used to create software for the home versions

and will be re-worked to take advantage of each gaming
console and computer system‘s strengths. Fans of “Primal
Rage” at the arcade will find home play to not only stay
true to the original, but most versions will also include
additional options such as a dinosaur tug-of-war and four-
on-four battles.

444

Time Warner Interactive, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Time
Warner Inc., develops and publishes interactive consumer entertain-
ment products that span across platforms from location-based and
video arcade games, to video game consoles and computer platforms
including: Sega Saturn™, Sega Genesis™, Sega™ 32X™, Sega™ CD,
Sega Game Gear™, Super Nintendo Entertainment System®, Game
Boy™, Atari® Jaguar™, Sony® PlayStation™, CD-ROM for IBM® and
compatible computers, Macintosh®, and interactive TV applications for
entertainment and gaming markets. All product names are trademarks

or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

445

Atari Corporation announces First Quarter 1995
Results

Sunnyvale, CA — May 16, 1995 — Atari Corporation today
reported its financial results for the first quarter ended
March 31, 1995.

Net sales for the first quarter of 1995 were $4.9 million

as compared to $8.2 million for the first quarter of 1994.
Late in the first quarter, the Company lowered the whole-
sale price of the Jaguar 64-bit multimedia entertainment
system to allow for a $159 retail price. As a result of the
low sales volume and continued investment in marketing
activities during 1995, the Company incurred a net loss of
$4.4 million for the first quarter of 1995 as compared to a
net loss of $0.9 million for the same quarter of 1994. The
first quarter of 1994 was favorably impacted by the settle-
ment of patent litigation in the amount of $2.2 million.

Commenting on the results, Sam Tramiel, CEO, said “The
Jaguar price change was made possible due to technology
advances and near term cost savings. We have positioned
the 64- bit Jaguar as new advanced technology with great
software, at an affordable price. With a retail price of $159
or less, the 64-bit Jaguar is in a good position to be the
upgrade choice for the present 16-bit game owners. We
are focused on developing software for the Jaguar and
preparing for the upcoming fall selling season.”

Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty years. Today,
Atari markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-bit en-
tertainment system. Atari is headquartered at 1196 Borregas Avenue,

Sunnyvale, California 94089.

446

Atari presents new Software Titles at “Fun ‘N’
Games” Media Day

Sunnyvale, CA — June 20, 1995 — Numerous new titles
for the Jaguar system and Jaguar CD were previewed at
the “Fun ‘N’ Games” media event at Atari Corporation
headquarters today. Hands-on previews and demonstra-
tions were conducted by game producers and developers.
In addition, the event highlighted marketing strategy,
technology developments, and a presentation of peripher-
als including Jaguar VR.

Atari Corporation continues its Jaguar software library
expansion, approaching 100 titles for its 64-bit Jaguar
entertainment system by the end of the year. “We will
have every kind of game that players want, from the best
developers and publishers in the world,” comments Atari
President Sam Tramiel.

The titles demonstrated at “Fun ‘N’ Games” include:

Blue Lightning (CD)

Gamers pilot a chosen plane from a squadron of United
Nations operatives as they fight to stop General Drako, the
UN member turned terrorist. Players design flight plans
and use their quick maneuvering skills to destroy key en-
emy locations and bases. Players also protect cargo planes
and other UN planes transporting important government
officials.

Hover Hunter (working title) (Cart)
The age of limitless resources and vast armies is over. The
battlefield now belongs to the elite; those with the speed,

447

firepower, reflexes and intelligence to get the job done
fast and done right. As pilot of a high-speed attack hover-
craft, gamers man the most powerful tool utilized in this
struggle for complete global domination.

White Men Can‘t Jump (Cart)

Trash talk runs rampant on this in-your-face, two-on-two,
blacktop basketball shoot-out. Automatic camera control
zooms in and swings around to catch all the action in this
fast-paced, hard playing new sports game for the 64-bit
Jaguar. White Men Can‘t Jump will be released bundled
with the Team Tap, the multi-player adapter for the Atari
Jaguar, a $29.95 value.

FlipOut! (Cart)

A puzzle game with an alien twist. Take a tour of the
Cheese Planet (or as the citizens call it, Planet Phromahj)
which includes nine different areas of game play, with
multiple games per area, and four difficulty levels, from
normal to psychotic. Whatever you do, watch out for those
mischievous little aliens. Some of them will try to help you
(if you can call it help), but most of them will try to trip
you up for the fun of it. If they weren't so cute, you‘d wring
their necks.

Highlander (CD)

You are Quentin MacLeod, the hope of mankind. An
immortal raised as an ordinary child, your destiny was
unknown until the day slave traders destroyed your vil-
lage, kidnapped the Dundees, and killed your mother. As
she died, your mother called you “The Highlander” and
urged you to seek out the stranger who would train you to
fulfill your destiny — to wrestle mankind from the grasp of

448

the evil immortal, Kortan. You must find this stranger, an
immortal named, Ramirez, who will help you gather the
knowledge you need to defeat Kortan. Your first quest is to
rescue the Dundees from Kortan‘s stronghold. Highlander
includes original dialog from the actors in the animated
series and cinepaked sequences from the animated series
as well.

Myst (CD)

Get lost in the worlds of Myst. Use your mind to unlock
the secrets of ages past. What happened to the worlds
Atrus created? Is one of his sons behind the destruction?
It‘s up to you to find out. Take careful notes. Everything
you see or hear, no matter how insignificant, could be the
key to unlocking the mystery.

SuperX (Cart)

Supercross enables the player to experience this exhila-
rating dirt bike ride and race from a realistic first person
biker‘s perspective. The track is constructed from texture
mapped polygons allowing full 360 degree 3D genera-
tion of the course. The game is based around three main
modes: practice, single race, and championship / tour-
nament. The riders have particular characteristics that
affect performance, including strength, weight, agility and
accumulated factors such as injuries and morale (based on
recent from). Put on your helmet... you're in for every-
thing from tunnel jumps to triples... get out in front quick
and you'll have everyone freight-training behind you.

Baldies (CD)
Ever want to rule the world? With Baldies, you have the
resources but do you have the strategy and skill? Build

449

your own society complete with workers, builders, sol-
diers, and scientists, and use them to create your own
world and conquer the enemy. Use your scientists to
invent creative ways to kill the enemy. Dropping a skunk
into an enemy house to make them run out into a mine-
field you've laid is just one way to get rid of them. You
can also drown them, electrocute them, and trap them, to
name just a few of their useful ploys. You are only limited
by your own imagination. This game is truly for all ages.
With its advanced AI, it can be a ,,fishbowl* where you
observe the baldies multiplying and living out their lives
or you can interact, decide to conquer the world and at-
tack the bad guys (those with hair). There are five areas
of game play with literally hundreds of levels, including
secret levels and secret warps to get to other levels.

Robinson‘s Requiem (CD)

This is the ultimate test of human endurance in an alien
world — a survival / adventure simulation set in a star-
tlingly realistic virtual environment the likes of which has
never before been seen. You are imprisoned on an alien
planet — Zarathustra — and your aim is to escape. If you
have to amputate one of your own limbs in order to sur-
vive, then that‘s what you must do. To escape, you'll need
to use the environment and your cunning, and do any-
thing necessary to stay alive — including amputating your
own limbs. Features more than 100 variables in real time;
your body temperature, stress, fatigue, pain, coughs, ma-
laria, poisoning, fractures, gangrene, hallucinations... Deal
with diseases and health hazards and fight off predators.
This is no outward-bound weekend. Robinson‘s Requiem
will test your survival skills to the limit. Keep your wits
about you Robinson, and you just might make it.

450

Charles Barkley Basketball (Cart)

Charles Barkley Basketball is an over-the-top, in-your-face
two-on-two basketball game. The player has 20 charac-
ters to choose from including Charles Barkley. There are
also two modes: versus and tournament mode. In versus
mode, pick your players and go at it. In tournament mode,
if you're good enough, you can even end up endorsing
products as your work your way through the tournament
to meet Charles Barkley in the finals to see who really is
the best.

Commander Blood (CD)

Bob Morlock, the oldest being in the universe, is the boss
of Kanary Corp., a gigantic business he founded over two
hundred thousand years ago. All of his millions of employ-
ees were built by and for Kanary, which spends colossal
sums of money just to keep Bob alive. Bob has felt the end
approaching so it is time to delve into the meaning of life,
the central truth of existence. Bob has put together an
expedition through time to the final destination: the Big
Bang. The Kanary Research Corp. scientists have devel-
oped an amazing black hole, name Oddland; a new era in
space travel has dawned. As Commander Blood, you take
command of the Ark (the best spaceship anyplace, any-
time), aided by Hank, the onboard bioconsciousness, and
Olga, the onboard translator), with Morlock on board as
well. Your job is to fly through Oddland as often as it takes
to get to the Big Bang. However, black holes aren‘t just the
natural boundary points between universes, they‘re also
political borders and are heavily guarded by SCRUT ships.
To make your trip a little easier, you have several identi-
ties: frozen meat salesman, roadie for the famous “Migra-
tors” rock band, etc. Each universe contains not only busi-

451

ness and military vessels, but also a number of planets.
You'll need to make friends, do favors, or get involved in
local wars to gather information you will need. Good luck!

Breakout 2000 (Cart)

Breakout 2000 is an update to Atari‘s classic game, Break-
out. As in the original, the game consists of a paddle, a
ball, and a playfield composed of bricks. The difference in
Breakout 2000 is that it changes the viewpoint by rotating
the playfield back into a 3/4 3D perspective. The objective
will still be to get a high score by clearing the playfield of
all removable bricks and not losing your turn by missing
the ball. To make this more difficult, there are bricks that
are non-breakable and some must be hit more than once
to be broken. Also there are power-ups which may give
you an extra ball, speed up your ball, slow down your ball,
etc. If you loved the original, you'll love this.

Vid Grid (CD)

Here‘s a whole new way to “play” music videos. As you
watch each video, the screen is divided into squares that
are all mixed up. You have to unscramble each video
while it‘s playing and before the music ends. You choose
to divide the screen by 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, 6x6 squares, upside
down, to name just a few of the options. Vid Grid features
some of your favorite full-length, uncut videos including
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Peter Gabriel, Aerosmith, Sound
Garden and more. It takes just minutes to learn, but pro-
vides hours of challenging entertainment. (And to make it
even better, it will be packed-in to the Jaguar CD player at
launch).

452

Varuna‘s Forces (CD)

Varuna‘s Forces is an action strategy game with elements
of a “shoot ,em up”. You are in control of a team of four
soldiers of the United Coalition of Planets, Marine At-
tack Division, nicknamed Varuna’‘s Forces. The team is
equipped with helmet cameras and microphones linked
via radio to your tactical command console. You see, on
your common screen, views from each of your soldier‘s
cameras. Also at your disposal is an overall view of a plan
of the area with your troops’ positions indicated. Your
soldiers have his or her personal characteristics and
relationships with his or her teammates which change
over time. Sometimes command decisions must be made
not just upon the physical status of a particular soldier,
but also upon his or her personal attributes. You are given
a number of scenarios from which to choose, however,
your objective is to successfully complete each one. You
may need to obtain the release of hostages, or capture an
entire area or base, or capture a particular piece of equip-
ment.

Battlemorph (CD)

One of the most realistic 3D shooter/explorer games to
date, Battlemorph picks up where Cybermorph left off.
This sequel will have more unique worlds, more elaborate
missions, and both underwater regions and underground
tunnels to explore. Players can use the various formations
of the War Griffon to battle into enemy territory, using
fighter, tank, and amphibious forms to gain the edge over
enemies.

Space War 2000 (Cart)
As a space knight, gamers vie for glory, honor, fame and

453

fortune in this first-person perspective 3D adventure.
With the proceeds from each successful intergalactic joust,
players can procure multiple weapons to defeat the enemy
and have their name cast for eternity in “The High Score
Table”.

Ultra Vortek (Cart)

Players become one of ten eye-popping, bone-crunching
warriors of the underground who battle it out in mind-
bending arenas carved from the living rock, with one goal
in mind: Defeat the dreaded Guardian of the Vortek. This
game features a ,,lock-out“ code to limit violence within
gameplay.

Creature Shock (CD)

The remains of the SS Amazon, a space-drifting ship aban-
doned in 2023, is the setting for this fully rendered 3D
animation Sci-Fi / Adventure game. In the hopes of find-
ing a new home for the dying planet Earth, players must
kill the deadly, crawling creatures which have inhabited
the ship, before the creatures literally slash and burn them
first. Created by Argonaut, designers of Nintendo’‘s Special
FX™ Chip.

Demolition Man (CD)

Based on the movie starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley
Snipes, this title features several different types of game-
play including shooting, car chasing, tunnel hunting,

and hand-to-hand combat. Players will actually control
cinematic-quality live action footage of Stallone as Demo-
lition Man in this game, which smoothly merges movie
and video footage. Includes footage of Stallone and Snipes
filmed specially for this interactive adventure.

454

Black ICE \ White Noise (CD)

No Respite. No Rails. No Rules. In Black ICE \ White
Noise players take the role of a street-level cyberpunk in
the urban blightscape of New San Francisco, walking a
barbed wire tightrope between the cysta line informa-
tional world of C-Space and the grimy reality of The Street
and The Meat. Gameplay features include point-of-view
C-Space hacking, full-motion video encounters, and
digitized video sprites of gangs, crazies, cops, Corps... and
corpses. Play a good guy who fights the good fight... or a
bad girl who left her heart in San Francisco a long time
ago. Ooops — your mission went bad and you just blew
away a cop. Now here come allllll his friends. Make a note:
Better do some creative hacking on that lengthy police
record of yours, after you get out of this alive. If you get
out of this alive...

Defender 2000 (Cart)

This arcade classic (from the creator of Tempest 2000 for
the Jaguar) will feature autofire for the basic laser; loads
of enemies; additional weapons; bonus rounds; a graphi-
cally enhanced ship and enemies; spectacular explosions;
scrolling and warping backdrops; up to four modes of play
(including “CPU assist”); and, of course, great music.

Thea Realm Fighters (CD)

As one of 12 digitized fighters, you must defeat all the
others before facing SurRaider, a powerful warrior from
another dimension. Four or more special moves and two
“killer” moves will help you win your battles against hid-
den SubBosses and 5 secret characters. Defeat up to 21
characters in a single game or SurRaider will conquer the
planet and add Earth to his vast empire.

455

Brett Hull Hockey (Cart)

This 3D game offers the player two different perspectives
and features a camera which zooms in and out and moves
in all directions to keep up with the fast paced action. The
power, colors, and speed of the Jaguar and texture map-
ping will give the gamer a true 3D experience.

Max Force (CD)

This game takes place at the Max Force Virtual Training
Facility where you must be smart, quick, and accurate
with over a dozen Nerf weapons in order to become a
member of the elite Max Force Team. While shooting en-
emies and targets, collect all four pieces of the Max Force
medallion and destroy the boss in each level. Three
dimensional artwork and first-person perspective with ac-
tion taking place in a Virtual Reality Simulator guarantee
lots of Nerf fun where no one gets hurt.

Jaguar is a trademark of Atari Corporation. Atari is a registered trade-
mark of Atari Corporation. Other products may be trademarks or regis-
tered trademarks of their owning companies.

Atari has been in the video game business for over twenty years. Today,
Atari markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-Bit enter-

tainment system. Atari Corporation is located in Sunnyvale, CA.

456

Theodore Hoff joins Atari

Sunnyvale, CA — June 26, 1995 — Earlier this morning,
Atari Corp. announced that Theodore M. Hoff has joined
the company‘s core management team as president of
North American Operations. Hoff will oversee Atari‘s
North American Operations, which includes the United
States, Canada and Mexico. “We are very pleased to have
Ted Hoff at Atari,” said Atari President/CEO Sam Tramiel.
“His extensive industry experience will play an integral
part, both in the planning and execution of our long- and
short-term corporate strategies.”

Prior to joining Atari, Hoff was senior vice president and
general manager of Fox Interactive, a division of Twenti-
eth Century Fox. During his tenure, Hoff launched Fox‘s
Interactive Entertainment Division, establishing the com-
pany‘s mission, structure, five-year strategic and financial
plans, and led the launch of multiple titles based on their
film and television properties.

From 1990 to 1994, Hoff held the key position of senior
vice president of Time Warner Interactive Inc. (TWI),

the home entertainment software publisher subsidiary of
Time Warner Inc. At TWI Hoff directed sales and market-
ing and established annual and long-range strategies and
financial objectives.

Hoff hired and directed senior staff, including directors of
marketing, sales, licensing and acquisition, and third-
party publisher affiliates. Under Hoff's direction, Time
Warner Interactive launched 15 to 20 new titles per year
including arcade, theatrical, and sports licenses.

457

Hoff's previous experience also includes senior manage-
ment positions at United Brands Co. and Philip Morris,
where Hoff launched new products and directed retail
sales, marketing and operations at both corporations.

Atari has been in the video game business for more than 20 years. Today.

Atari markets Jaguar, the only American-made, advanced 64-bit enter-

tainment system. Atari is located in Sunnyvale.

458

Atari Launches “Super Burnout” on Jaguar 64

Sunnyvale, CA — July 5, 1995 — Earlier this morning
Atari Corporation released “Super Burnout”, a fast-action
cartridge title for the 64-bit Jaguar system. In this crash-
and-burn arcade-style game, motorcycle players compete
head-to-head with friends, computer generated racers, or
against the clock.

“Super Burnout” has 60 frame-per-second break-neck
action graphics and intense realism of motorcycle racing.
Players criss cross the globe to compete on the most in-
tense tracks in the world. All eight racetrack locations fea-
ture awesome scenery and the hottest music soundtracks.

The key to a player‘s driving success is to choose a custom
sports bike that provides them with the winning edge.
“Super Burnout” offers numerous motorcycles for players
to choose from, each with individual style and powerful
driving capabilities. The two-player “versus mode” applies
split-screen details, which allows competitors to view their
racing progress all the way to the checkered flag.

“Super Burnout is a great addition to our library of
software titles,” said Ted Hoff, president of Atari Corp.’s
North American Operations. “It is a fine example of the
high-quality, competitively priced software we continue to
bring to our Jaguar 64 consumers.”

“Super Burnout” players can race day or night and choose
the number of laps in one of four racing modes. “Super

Burnout”, rated KA (appropriate for kids through adults),
is available for sale now for $59.99 (suggested retail price).

459

Additional Atari Jaguar summer releases will include:
“Ultra Vortek”, “White Men Can‘t Jump”, “FlipOut!” and
“Rayman”. These are just a few of the many great titles for
the Atari Jaguar library, which will approach 100 titles by
the end of 1995.

For over 20 years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers with high-
quality, value priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets Jaguar,
the only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system. Atari
Corporation is located in Sunnyvale, CA.

“Super Burnout” ©1995, Atari Corporation, Virtual Xperience and Shen
Technologies SARL. All Rights Reserved. “Super Burnout”, Atari logo
and Jaguar are all trademarks of Atari Corporation. Virtual Xperience,
The Virtual Xperience logo and Shen Technologies SARL are the trade-
marks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Other products may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their

owning companies.

460

Atari & Activision Sign Deal

Sunnyvale, CA — July 17, 1995 — Atari Corporation an-
nounced today the finalization of a contract with Activi-
sion Inc., a Los Angeles based leader in software devel-
opment. Atari Corporation‘s pact with the prestigious
developer will bring consumers classic Atari titles in
multiple formats. The agreement will also result in the
release of the all-time American favorite, “Pitfall: The
Mayan Adventure” for Jaguar 64.

“Our collaboration with Activison will offer exciting en-
tertainment for both Jaguar 64 consumers and PC users,”
said Ted Hoff, Atari Corporation‘s President of North
American Operations. “‘Pitfall’ is a fine example of our
continued commitment to provide Jaguar gamers with
top-quality titles.”

The release of “Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure” for the Jag-
uar 64 system will be an ideal showcase for the extensive
capabilities of this advanced home entertainment system.
“Pitfall” reflects the power of Jaguar‘s superior 64-bit
technology, resulting in brilliant color, intense speed, and
stereo sound. The jungle adventure game has a target ship
date of mid September.

Numerous Atari classic games will soon be available to PC
users when Activision releases “Atari Action Pak II” for
single-user IBM and PC compatible computers. The spe-
cial “Pak” will also provide consumers with PC versions of
such memorable Atari titles as: “Air Sea Battle”; “Break-
out”, “Super Breakout”; “Space War”; “Surround”; “Mil-
lipede”; “Combat”; “Yar‘s Revenge”; “Canyon Bomber”;

461

“Gravitar”; “Maze Craze”; and “Night Driver”.

The “Pitfall” release under the Activision agreement is one
of the many exciting games for the Atari Jaguar 64 library,
which will approach 100 titles by the end of the year.

The expanded library will include CD titles for the much
anticipated Jaguar CD system, which will be shipping in
August.

For over 20 years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers with high-
quality, value- priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets Jaguar,
the only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system and is

located in Sunnyvale, California.

462

Atari Corporation launches ,,hoops“ game with
Team Tap peripheral

Sunnyvale, CA — August 1, 1995 — Today Atari Corporation
launched two exciting additions to the Jaguar 64 product
line. The quickly expanding Atari arsenal now includes
“White Men Can‘t Jump”™, a fast-paced, trash-talkin‘
game of street ball based on the major motion picture from
Twentieth Century Fox, and “Team Tap”™, a peripheral
for the Jaguar 64 system that allows up to four players to
participate at once. Now, four players can compete in this
no-holds-barred hoops tourney where teams try to hustle
and shove their way into the street ball hall of fame.

“White Men Can‘t Jump” players must attempt to make it
into the Slam City Tournament, the ultimate in street ball
play. It costs $5,000 to enter, however, and players start
out with only $500 loaned to them from the BREAKLEG
BROS, two unforgiving loan sharks. Hoopsters must hit
the court and win games to hustle the remaining cash.

Players custom design their teams as well as control the
scoring, timing and possession rules. The one thing they
can't control is the shovin‘ and trash talkin‘. Players must
be tough and ready to throw elbows because street ball rules
apply — traveling and goaltending are the only fouls called.

Atari also launched “Team Tap”, a peripheral for the
Jaguar 64 system bundled with “White Men Can‘t Jump”.
“Team Tap” enables four players to get in on the jammin‘
hoops action all at once. A $29.95 value, “Team Tap” is
included free with “White Men Can‘t Jump”. With select
future titles, players can employ two Team Taps for eight-

463

competitor game play.

Two play modes are available for “White Men Can‘t
Jump“: Tournament and Versus. Tournament mode
lets one or two players compete as a team in a street ball
game. With “Team Tap” and Versus mode, three or four
players split into two pairs and play against each other.

“White Men Can‘t Jump’ launches our fall line-up of
sports and action games for the Jaguar,” said Ted Hoff,
President of Atari‘s North American Operations. “This
game showcases the power of the Jaguar 64 and ‘Team
Tap’, which provides the capability for four players to en-
joy on-screen action in this two-on-two basketball game.”

“White Men Can‘t Jump” is rated KA, appropriate for kids
through adults, and has a suggested retail price of $69.99.
Atari communicated with tens of thousands of Jaguar 64
users highlighting the new title introduction and periph-
eral offer through the company‘s new Jaguar First Alert
consumer postcard program. Other Atari summer releases
include “Ultra Vortek,” “FlipOut!,” and “Rayman.” The
library of games for Atari Jaguar 64 will approach 75 titles
by the end of 1995.

For over twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided
consumers with high-quality, value-priced entertainment.
Located in Sunnyvale, California, Atari Corporation mar-
kets Jaguar, the only American-made, advanced 64-bit
entertainment system.

464

“White Men Can‘t Jump”™ ©1995 Twentieth Century Fox Film Cor-
poration. All Rights Reserved. “White Men Can‘t Jump” and associated
characters are trademarks of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
Licensed to Atari Corporation for distribution. Atari, the Atari logo and
Jaguar are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Corporation.
All Rights Reserved. This software is authorized by Atari for use with the

Jaguar 64-Bit Interactive Multimedia System.

465

Atari Corporation goes to Bat for the San Fran-
cisco Giants Community Fund

Sunnyvale, CA — August 1, 1995 — On Saturday, August
12, Atari Corporation will donate $10,500 to the San
Francisco Giants Community Fund. With over 300 Atari
Corporation employees and their families in attendance,
Sam Tramiel, President and C.E.O. of Atari Corporation,
will present the donation to Giants‘ third baseman Matt
Williams as the team faces the Chicago Cubs at Candle-
stick Park. Last year, Atari Corporation committed to do-
nate $250 for every home run Matt Williams hit. Williams
met Atari Corporation‘s challenge, hitting forty-two home
runs, and raising a grand total of $10,500 for the Giants
Community Fund.

“Atari Corporation is a proud supporter of the Giants
Community Fund. It is a vital organization, as it champi-
ons key programs for all ages,” comments Atari Corpora-
tion President Sam Tramiel.

The San Francisco Giants Community Fund is a non-
profit organization dedicated to the improvement of local
communities through the funding of the Jr. Giants Base-
ball Program and other charitable endeavors. In 1994,
the Junior Giants program, which focuses on self-esteem
training, ethics and teamwork, served nearly 5,000 chil-
dren in more than 50 communities.

Since its inception in 1991, the San Francisco Giants
Fund has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to
non-profit organizations throughout Northern California.
Recipients of the 1995 grant awards include Golden Gate

466

Senior Services, Friends of Recreation and Parks, Hospice
of Marin, and the San Francisco Consortium for Elder
Abuse Prevention.

For over 20 years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers with
high-quality value-priced entertainment. Atari Corporation, located in
Sunnyvale, CA, markets Jaguar, the only American-made advanced 64-

Bit entertainment system.

467

Atari Corporation announces Second Quarter
1995 Results

Sunnyvale, CA — August 14, 1995 — Atari Corporation
today reported its financial results for the second quarter
ended June 30, 1995. Net Sales for the second quarter of
1995 were $3.0 million, as compared to the sales for the
second quarter of 1994 of $8.2 million. As a result of the
low sales volume, the company incurred a Net Loss of
$4.0 million for the second quarter 1995 as compared toa
Net Loss of $3.4 million for the same period of 1994.

Commenting on the report, Sam Tramiel, Chief Executive
Officer said, “The results were as expected, as the industry
is currently going through a transition from older 16-bit
systems to higher-technology 32-bit and 64-bit systems.
We believe the Jaguar is competitively priced and well-po-
sitioned to take advantage of this transition.”

Commenting on marketing and sales, Ted Hoff, President
of Northern American Operations, said, “Our focus is on
creating compelling software for Jaguar and in July we
commenced shipment of ‘Super Burnout’ and ‘White Men
Can‘t Jump.’ Additionally, third party developers shipped
‘Flashback’ and ‘Pinball Fantasies.’ During August, Atari
will ship ‘FlipOut!’ and ‘Ultra Vortek,’ and we will com-
mence shipments of the Jaguar CD Player for a retail price
of $149.95. The Jaguar CD Player will include two free
games, ‘Blue Lightning,’ “Vid Grid,’ and a demo version
of ‘Myst,’ plus an audio CD of the soundtrack from the hit
Jaguar game ‘Tempest 2000.’ In September, Atari will be
increasing distribution in the mass marketing channels
and will launch a dynamic marketing campaign.’

468

Atari Corporation has been in the video game business for over twenty
years. Today, Atari markets the 64-bit Jaguar, the only American-made
entertainment system. Atari Corporation is based in Sunnyvale, Califor-

nia.

469

Primal Rage Coming

Milpitas, CA — August 25, 1995 — Pre-historic fury un-
leashed at retail outlets around the world today with the
hotly anticipated launch of “Primal Rage™.” Building off
the success of their hit arcade title, Time Warner Interac-
tive, Consumer Games Division (TWi), created “Primal
Rage” for eleven home gaming and computer platforms,
five of which shipped today. The title is now available

at retail outlets for the Sega Genesis™, Super Nintendo
Entertainment System@®, Sega Game Gear™, Nintendo®
Game Boy™ and PC CD-ROM systems.

“Primal Rage” is a head-to-head fighting game with an
original look that features seven fantasy, pre-historic
characters in a battle for supremacy. The originality of the
characters and the sheer number and ingenuity of their
moves, come together in an innovative and addictive
fighting game.

Snout Gouges, Tail Whips, and Flying Butt Slams
How often do you get to use a “Hot Foot” or “Snap-Tail-
Whip” on your opponent, let alone a “Bed-O-Nails,” “Gut
Fling” or “Cranium Crusher?” When playing against a
“Primal Rage” veteran you'll get your chance but look out
for revenge when a “Flying Butt Slam” or truly debilitating
“Fart of Fury” comes your way!

Each of the seven fantasy dinosaurs has an individualized
fighting style with more than 70 actions including: fight-
ing moves, powerful “secret” moves, masterful combo hits,
graphic finishing sequences, punches, death sequences,
victory sequences, and ready poses. Playing “Primal Rage”

470

provides an experience unlike any other fighting game on
the market to date.

The Word is Out

Over one million units of “Primal Rage” consumer ver-
sions were ordered by retailers for the initial production
run. Mark Beaumont, Senior Vice President Marketing
and Product Development, said, “In this environment of
platform transition, A+ level marketing muscle is neces-
sary to secure shelf space and reach consumers. We were
able to provide buyers with a high degree of comfort by
showing the quality of our ‘Primal Rage’ line and the level
of support we're putting behind it.”

TWi is supporting the launch of “Primal Rage” with an

$8 million marketing campaign. Media buys include two
flights of TV ads on national primetime, syndication, and
cable channels; top 15 metro market radio promotions and
contests; four-color half-page spread and full-page print
ad campaigns breaking in all major video and personal
computer publications; and consumer promotions such

as in-pack discount coupons, player strategy guides, demo
discs, and trading cards. Cross promotions with strategic
partners will further increase consumer awareness with an
exclusive product preview already underway on the Sega®
Channel, a four month nationwide mall tour with Sendai
Publishing, and a nationwide competition for the national
“Primal Rage” Video-Game Tournament title to be held at
Six Flags Over Texas on September 16.

November 14 is the date for the second wave of software
on new gaming systems including the Sega Saturn™, Sega
32X™, 3D0®, Sony® Playstation™, and Atari® Jag-

471

uar™, as well as the Macintosh® CD-ROM.

Time Warner Interactive, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Time
Warner Inc., develops and publishes interactive consumer entertainment
products for video arcade games, video game consoles and computer
platforms. All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of

their respective owners.

472

Gamers “Flip” Over New Atari Release

Sunnyvale, CA — August 28, 1995 — This morning Atari
Corporation introduced the exciting title “FlipOut!”, a
wacky and challenging puzzle game for the Jaguar 64
home entertainment system.

“FlipOut!” is a puzzle game with a unique twist. Players
tour the distant “Planet Cheese” and view Mother Earth
through the eyes of alien tourists. The game takes place
at The Great Tile Flipping Festival, the premiere sporting
event for the citizens of Planet Cheese.

Players participate in The Great Tile Flipping Festival all
over the Universe, from the Zero Gravity Arena on Planet
Cheese to the presidential faces of Mount Rushmore.

In some of the worlds, players must “juggle” ten tiles by
flipping them into the designated places on a three-by-
three grid, where one must be in the air at all times. In
Yellowstone, aliens are flipped until they land on the color
coordinated geyser, and in the Sphorkle Diner, players
must match food with the correct color alien.

Sound simple? Don‘t be fooled. “FlipOut!” has four dif-
ficulty levels ranging from normal to insane with obstacles
to challenge even the most talented flippers. Each area
offers different challenges, including alien interference,
that intensify as levels progress. In the final world, gam-
ers meet King Fluffy, a wacky blue-blood determined to
confuse players by scrambling and destroying the difficult
sixteen-tile playing field.

“FlipOut!’ adds yet another genre of game play to Jaguar

473

64,” said Ted Hoff, Atari‘s President of North American
Operations. “It combines animated characters with three
dimensional multi-level game play to create a puzzle game
beyond players‘ wildest imaginations.”

“FlipOut!” is just one of Atari‘s new title launches for the
season. Recently, Atari released “Super Burnout” and
“White Men Can‘t Jump” bundled with Team Tap™, a
peripheral to link four players at once. Other titles to be
released this summer include: “Ultra Vortek”, “Pitfall: the
Mayan Adventure”, “Flashback” (published by US Gold),
and “Rayman” (published by UbiSoft).

“FlipOut!” has a rating of K-A (appropriate for Kids to
Adults) and has a suggested retail price of $49.99. It is
available in stores nationwide.

For over twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers with
high quality, value priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets
Jaguar, the only American made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system.
Atari Corporation is located in Sunnyvale, California.

trademarks of Atari Corporation.

474

Atomix to Spin Atari Web Site

Sunnyvale, CA — August 29, 1995 — Atari Corporation an-
nounced this morning an agreement with ATOMIX, Inc.
(formerly TOPIX; an Emmy Award winning CGI and new
media development house) to develop a next-generation
user support World Wide Web Domain on the Internet.
The pages that make up the Domain, with planned instal-
lation by October 6, will host Internet users worldwide
with news and information regarding Atari Corporations
next-generation 64-bit Jaguar 64.

“The Internet is exploding with popularity; almost as if
telecommunications were being discovered all over again,’
stated Mr. Don Thomas, Atari‘s Director of Customer
Service Marketing. “Jaguar 64 is the most advanced mul-
timedia entertainment platform and only Atari can offer
64-bit technology for less than $150. It makes sense that
Atari would demand a next-generation development team
focused on our Web Page development.”

Visitors to Ataris Web Domain will be treated to a wide
variety of information, previews, reviews and interactive
games. A Domain is an interactive billboard that is con-
nected to the Internet; the worldwide information data-
base anchored by universities, military sites and corporate
participation. Individual users can visually travel to places
established for entertainment or to sell goods and servic-
es. Sometimes specific topics are covered largely by color-
ful text, but most Pages integrate eye-popping graphics,
stunning animation, appealing sound effects and interac-
tive activities. Access to Web Pages is made available by
special programs called Browsers which connect through

475

an established host system. CompuServe Information
Service is one such service which offers economical and
versatile access.

“The combined creative, technical and networking experi-
ence of ATOMIX programming artists offers Atari Corpo-
ration over 30 years experience in innovative application
to Web Page design,” states Mr. Kirt McMaster, Direc-
tor of New Media for ATOMIX. “Our primary focus is to
engulf our clients in an arena of ,next-level‘ development.
Utilizing innovative new Web technologies such as Sun
Microsystems Hot Java, we will overwhelm visitors to At-
ari Corporations Web Domain with a multimedia experi-
ence that pushes the envelope of known standards.”

ATOMIKX, based in Hollywood, CA, combines the re-
sources of talent, hardware and creative application. Over
12 SGI workstations are staffed by the industry‘s most
desired artists and expert programmers. ATOMIX enjoys
a portfolio which includes work on movies like “Judge
Dredd” and “Candyman II”. Studio production work in-
cludes animated logo material for Twentieth Century Fox
which made its debut with the premiere of “True Lies”.
The firm has also integrated digital visual and sound
technology in motion rides such as the one popularized at
Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Music video work includes
performers such as TLC and David Bowie. Industrial and
commercial references include General Motors, Michelob,
Discover Card, Toshiba, McDonalds and Pirelli Tires.

Atari Corporation has been in the video game business for over twenty
years. Today, Atari markets the 64-bit Jaguar, the only American-made
home video game system. Atari Corporation is based in Sunnyvale,
California.

476

Atari is a registered trademark of Atari Corporation. Jaguar is a trade-
mark of Atari Corporation. Hot Java is a trademark of Sun Microsys-
tems. ATOMIX is a trademark of ATOMIX, Inc. All other tradenames
are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owning

companies.

477

Atari Corporation and Ground Zero Take Off With
Sizzling Ad Campaign

Sunnyvale, CA — September 5, 1995 — Atari Corporation
has retained the creative services of the hot, Southern
California based agency Ground Zero to develop a new
in-your-face, cutting edge advertising campaign for their
Jaguar 64 home entertainment system.

The humorous, fast-paced :30 spots target males ages
12-34. The campaign features a series of characters who
deduce that the Atari Jaguar 64 represents the most
outstanding value among advanced video game systems.
The first commercial employs an engaging “stimulus and
response” theme where the main character concludes it
would be dumb not to select the Atari Jaguar system for
half the price of competitive video game systems. Subse-
quent spots will include other eclectic characters who ar-
rive at the same conclusion. The commercials also include
a rapid fire sequence of game footage and retailer tags.

“Our alliance with Ground Zero has resulted in a fantas-
tic attention-grabbing television and print campaign for
the Jaguar 64,” said Ted Hoff, Atari‘s President of North
American Operations. “The ads are extremely creative
and continue to reinforce our corporate message — that
the Jaguar 64 is the fun, high quality, value priced home
entertainment system of choice.”

The aggressive advertising blitz will break on cable net-

works and syndication nationally in early September with
heavy-up advertising in the top spot markets commencing
in early mid-October. The television and print advertising

478

schedule will run throughout December, the peak sales
period for video games.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Ground Zero to
work with the company that invented the home video
game market,” said Jim Smith, one of Ground Zero‘s
Co-Founders. “Consumers are jaded by the sameness of
video game hardware and software advertising. The Atari
Jaguar delivers not only cutting edge technology and great
games, it’s also the most affordable system available. The
creative result is advertising that drives home that mes-
sage very clearly.”

For more than twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers
with high-quality, value-priced entertainment. Atari Corporation mar-
kets Jaguar, the only American-made, advanced 64- bit entertainment
system, and is located in Sunnyvale, California.

Ground Zero is based in Venice, California and was started in late 1993
by Court Crandell, Kirk Souder, and Jim Smith. Clients include Atari
Corporation, The Walt Disney Company, Yamaha WaveRunners, Dia-

mondback Mountain Bikes, and the Athletic Footwear Association.

479

Rayman Saves the Day

Sunnyvale, CA — September 19, 1995 — Atari Corporation
announced this morning the launch of Rayman for the
Jaguar 64 entertainment system. Rayman is a challenging,
unique game developed and published for Atari Corpora-
tion by Ubi Soft for the powerful Next Generation Jaguar
64.

Rayman transports players to a mystical world with
vibrant animation and an upbeat soundtrack as they help
the affable adventure her defeat bizarre enemies, rescue
his friends and restore peace and harmony to the world.
Combining challenging game play, cartoon like animation
and authentic sound effects, Rayman appeals to gamers
of all ages and skill levels. Players explore multi-layered
worlds with independently scrolling backdrops leading to
clever enemies that learn each gamer‘s playing style and
fight back with wicked skill.

“Ubi Soft has developed an outstanding game for the
Jaguar 64,” said Ted Hoff, Atari‘s President of North
American Operations. “The anmation for Rayman consists
of over 50 hand-drawn characters, 65,000 colors and 60
frames per second movement all of which highlight the
superiority of Jaguar‘s 64-bit technology.”

Gaming capabilities and sophisticated visual presentation
have the industry buzzing about this new game for Jaguar
64. In the September issue, Electronic Gaming Monthly
awards Rayman for Atari Corporation‘s Jaguar 64 the
Editor‘s Gold Choice Award.

480

Rayman is rated (KA) for kids through adults, is in stores
now, and has a suggested retail price of $69.99.

For over twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers with
high quality, value-priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets Jag-
uar 64, the only American-made, advanced 64-bit system and is located
in Sunnyvale, California.

Headquartered just outside of Paris, France, Ubi Soft develops, publishes
and distributes video games and computer entertainment software
throughout the world, with offices in the USA, Germany, Japan, Spain,

Italy and the UK.

481

Atari Jaguar CD System Pounces onto Multimedia
Marketplace

Sunnyvale, CA — September 22, 1995 — According to
video game enthusiasts, it was well worth the wait. Atari
Corporation‘s highly anticipated multimedia compact disc
player for the Jaguar 64 interactive home entertainment
system has hit the stores and is jumping off the shelves.

Atari Corporation has already sold out of its first produc-
tion run of the CD peripheral, and is stepping up produc-
tion to fill the high demand of retailers‘ reorders.

“Our first order of Jaguar CDs has been largely consumed
by our customer pre-orders,” said Peter Roithmayr, Senior
Buyer from Electronic Boutique. “We have already reor-
dered and are excited by the strong sales we are seeing for
the Jaguar CD.”

The combination of the Jaguar 64-bit console and the
advanced CD technology yields a system with explosive
power. As the first CD system coupled with 64-bit technol-
ogy to hit the market, the Jaguar CD is on the leading edge
of “next generation” home entertainment systems at only

$149.95.

Gamers experience intense true color, full motion video
and CD-quality stereo sound when upgrading to the Jag-
uar CD system. The CD component plugs into the Jaguar
64 console providing 790 Megabytes of raw data storage.
Approximately 15 Jaguar CD titles will be available for sale
later this year including hits like “Myst”, “Primal Rage”
from Time Warner Interactive, “Black ICE\White Noise”,

482

“Highlander”, and “Commander Blood”.

“The launch of our Jaguar CD exemplifies Atari Corpora-
tion‘s commitment to providing consumers value priced
components for their Atari entertainment system,” said
Ted Hoff, President of Atari‘s North American Opera-
tions. “Now, Jaguar owners can quickly and economically
upgrade to a CD system and dramatically enhance their
gaming experience.”

In addition to the awesome gaming capabilities, the Jag-
uar CD elevates home entertainment to an entirely new
level as it plays audio discs while providing simultaneous
access to Atari‘s cartridge media. Players can experience

a laser light show in their own homes with “The Virtual
Light Machine” that is built into the Jaguar CD system. As
audio discs play on the Jaguar CD, “The Virtual Light
Machine“ morphs, contorts and pulsates psychedelic light
with the beat of the music.

With a suggested retail price of only $149.95, the Jaguar
CD system is undoubtedly the best value on the market.
Atari Corporation, however, takes their commitment to
value-pricing one step further in giving Jaguar consumers
a bonus pack with the CD peripheral. More than $100 in
fast-action interactive software will be included free with
the system. The software bonus pack contains:

¢ Blue Lightning — Gamers pilot a plane from a squadron
of United nations operatives as they fight to stop General
Drako, the UN member turned terrorist. Players design
flight plans and use their quick maneuvering skills to
destroy key enemy locations and basis.

483

¢ Vid Grid — An innovative way to “play” music videos. As
players watch the video, the screen is divided into squares
and placed out of order. Players must unscramble each
video before it finishes playing. Vid Grid features videos
from hot rock artist Guns ‘n Roses, Jimi Hendrix, Metal-
lica, Ozzie Osbourne, Van Halen, Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Peter Gabriel, Aerosmith, and Sound Garden.

¢ Myst — Jaguar CD consumers will be treated to a demo
of the first level of game play for the wildly popular title.
Players must use their intellect to unlock the secrets of
ages past. Every detail, no matter how insignificant it first
seems could be the key to unlocking the mystery.

¢ Tempest 2000 — Consumers receive the audio CD to this
all-time favorite Atari hit. With Jaguar CD capabilities, the
Tempest 2000 soundtrack can by played with “The Virtual
Light Machine”.

The Jaguar CD peripheral with the bonus software pack-
in is available in stores nationwide. Atari Corporation
notified tens of thousands of Jaguar 64 users of the new
Jaguar CD release through the company’s Jaguar Alert
consumer postcard program.

For more than twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers
with high quality value priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets
Jaguar, the only American-made advanced 64-bit entertainment system
and is located in Sunnyvale, California. Atari, the Atari logo and Jaguar
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Corporation. All Rights
Reserved. All listed software is authorized by Atari for use with the Jag-
uar 64-Bit Multimedia System.

484

Multimedia Publishing. Licensed to Atari Corporation. Vid Grid is a
trademark of Jasmine Multimedia Publishing and Geffen Records Inc.

MYST software copyright ©1993 Cyan, Inc. and Sun Corporation. All
Rights Reserved. Atari Jaguar Adaptation (Worldwide) ©1995 Atari
Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Myst is a registered trademark of
Cyan, Inc.

Atari Corporation.

485

Atari Launches JAGWIRE

Sunnyvale, CA — October 6, 1995 — Atari Corporation
unveiled this morning their new JAGWIRE™ World Wide
Web Domain. JAGWIRE features the creative integration
of eye-popping graphics, animation, audio and descriptive
text for web browsers to enjoy in the leisure of their homes
or office. The site was created by ATOMIX, Inc.; an Emmy
Award-winning new media house in Hollywood, California.
The JAGWIRE Web Site URL is http://www.atari.com.

The installation of the JAGWIRE Web Domain is an
anchor for a network of official support offered to gamers
throughout the world. In concert with the explosive trends
of the Internet and the World Wide Web, Atari has named
CompuServe as their official Jaguar 64 commercial on-
line support site. CompuServe access is as little as $9.95 a
month and offers full access to the Internet and the World
Wide Web as well as exclusive features not available on
any other system; such as the Atari Jaguar forum. Type
GO JAGUAR to access 24-hour on-line support on Com-
puServe or call toll free (800) 848-8990.

Two independent online publications have also pledged a
bond to the JAGWIRE network by offering exclusive news,
reviews and previews of Jaguar 64 products in each of
their issues. Atari Explorer Online offers in-depth cover-
age of Atari products from cover to cover. Silicon Times
Report is distributed worldwide each week and features
computer and video game coverage of interest to every-
one. Both publications are downloadable from Com-
puServe or can be found through direct links with Ataris
JAGWIRE Web Site.

486

Atari has made the commitment to make shopping and
obtaining support for the Jaguar 64 as simple for modem
users as possible, states Donald A. Thomas, Jr., Direc-

tor of Atari Customer Service Marketing. To do that, we
have installed the best domain created by the best creative
people, accessible through the best access lines (T3) and
supplemented by the best commercial on-line services of
CompuServe, and the best on-line publishing support. Us-
ers can sample game images, hear game sounds, find out
where to buy them and make buying decisions based on
reliable and accurate resources.

Jim Pascua, Marketing Manager of CompuServe, adds
that his company has also made serious commitments to
the evolution of global access at economic rates and with
maximum access. New updates to our on-line software
will revolutionize how users can access the Internet and
the finest commercial on-line service in the world simulta-
neously. We are proud of Ataris designation and we feel it
is in step with the direction this industry is taking.

Ataris new JAGWIRE Web Site is installed NOW. Web
Browers may be set to the URL of http://www.atari.com.
The site features easy access icons to a great deal of prod-
uct information including game descriptions, screen shots,
release schedules, ordering information and real time reg-
istration in Ataris mailing list. CompuServes Jaguar forum
features downloadable magazines, screen shots, reviews,
software, conferences, contests and a very active message
base to host non-stop interaction between Jaguar enthusi-
asts and Atari personnel.

487

For more than twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers
with high quality, value-priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets
Jaguar, the only American-made advanced 64-bit entertainment system
and is located in Sunnyvale, California.

CompuServe is an H&R Block company. Founded in 1955, H&R Block, a
diversified services company, is the worlds leading tax preparation and
on-line information services company. CompuServe operates the most
comprehensive network in the world, providing on-line services to more
than 3.5 million members in more than 140 countries and network
services to more than 800 corporate customers worldwide. H&R Block
Tax Services provided tax-related services for almost one in every seven
returns filed with the IRS in 1995, and served 17.1 million taxpayers in
more than 9,500 offices worldwide.

Atari is a registered trademark of Atari Corporation. Jaguar is a trade-
mark of Atari Corporation. CompuServe is a trademark of CompuServe
Information Service. ATOMIX is a trademark of ATOMIX, Inc. All other
tradenames are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective

owning companies.

488

Power Drive Rally Ships

Milpitas, CA — October 9, 1995 — Flying gravel, spraying
mud, and squealing tires announce the arrival of Time
Warner Interactive‘s (TWi) “Power Drive Rally*™™” for

the Atari® Jaguar™ video-game system. This rugged,
strategic driving game utilizes the power of the Jaguar

to project graphics so detailed you'll feel the challenge of
long distance racing in 38 road rally courses. Power Drive
Rally is based on the official World Rally Championships
where racers jockey for competitive times, major prize
money, and powerful vehicles on the international touring
circuit. “Power Drive Rally” is available at retail stores for
an estimated price of $64.95.

This is the classic road rally racing experience: a two-
member-team endurance race that makes regular speed-
way tracks look like a Sunday drive. Your computerized
teammate acts as co-pilot, barking out directions and
warnings as you negotiate fallen logs, snow drifts and
river beds. Tracks and terrain are vivid with details such
as water pools reflecting the sky, tires creating skid marks,
late afternoon shadows, dust clouds, brake lights, and
exhaust plumes.

The Race Is On

“Power Drive Rally” offers three different types of courses:
road rallies over mixed terrain including mud, gravel,

and asphalt; time trials for flat out speed challenges; and
obstacle courses with cones, curves and a sinister slalom.

You will cross the start line with a fairly basic vehicle and
a small wad of cash in your pocket. From there, you must

489

tear across a range of terrain, from the break of day to the
dead of night, out-pacing your opponents, winning prize
money, and moving on to more challenging vehicles and
races.

You'll find that each vehicle has its own handling nuances
with differences in cornering and road holding abilities as
well as in acceleration and deceleration. You are respon-
sible for repairing and maintaining your cars. Fail to heed
excessive damage readings and you may be penalized with
disqualification. On the other hand, as you accumulate
prize money, you can trade your car in for a higher class
model and gain automatic entry to more elite levels of
competition.

“Power Drive Rally” lets you really drive — on and off
track. Head off-road and you'll feel the tight turns of
doing a donut in the dirt, or loss of traction as you slide
over ice or grass. Lose control and you might experience
a gut-wrenching barrel roll or spectacular wipe out. This
is skill-driving for those with endurance and a sense of
competitive adventure. Rest up!

Time Warner Interactive, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Time
Warner Inc., develops and publishes software video-game and computer
systems. All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of

their respective owners.

490

Agreement with Activision lands classic adven-
ture title for Jaguar 64

Sunnyvale, CA — October 17, 1995 — Jungle drums pound
and pulses race with the release of Atari Corporation‘s
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure. The jungle adventure game
is the result of Atari Corporation‘s licensing agreement
with Activision and is now available in stores nationwide.
Based on the original Pitfall! that debuted on the Atari
2600, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure takes gamers on a
wild trek through the recesses of the Mayan jungle. Play-
ers assume the role of Pitfall Harry Jr. Searching for his
kidnapped father. With pages from an old journal as their
only guide, gamers need lightning-quick reflexes and a
discerning eye to make it through the jungle to rescue
Pitfall Harry.

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure features ten challenging
levels and enhanced gameplay not found in any other
version. In addition to the challenges of the fierce jungle,
there are seven letters hidden throughout the terrain;
spell out pitfall and be treated to a special secret ending.
The game also boasts an all-new Save Game feature that
lets players return to their quest where they last left off.

“Our alliance with Activision has resulted in an enhanced
version of Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure specifically de-
signed for the Atari Jaguar,” said Ted Hoff, Atari Corpo-
ration‘s President of North American Operations. Pitfall:
The Mayan Adventure features incredible art and graphics
— “more than 2000 frames of Kroyer film animation has
been reworked to take advantage of the Jaguar‘s outstand-
ing 64-bit capabilities.”

491

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure released under the agree-
ment with Activision is just one of the many exciting
games for the Atari Jaguar 64 library. The rapidly ex-
panding library will also include CD titles for the recently
launched Jaguar CD peripheral which is available in stores
across the United States.

Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure is rated T (appropriate for
teenagers and older) and has a suggested retail price of

$59.99.

For over 20 years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers with high-
quality, value-priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets Jaguar,
the only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system and is
located in

Sunnyvale, California.

1995. Activision, Inc.

492

Jaguar CD Highlander Ships

Sunnyvale, CA — October 30, 1995 — The rapidly expand-
ing software library for the newly released Jaguar CD grew
again this week, as Atari Corporation launched its second
CD title. “Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods” was
shipped to retailers this morning.

An action adventure game based on the popular animated
series, “Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods” boasts
both a truly sensational storyline and advanced gaming
technology. Players assume the role of Quentin MacLeod,
an immortal whose destiny remained unclear until his
mother revealed his true identity as “The Highlander.”
With this knowledge, Quentin must set upon a quest to
fulfill his destiny, rescue his village and save humanity
from the evil Kortan.

“Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods” features both
original dialog and Cinepak sequences from the animated
series. Atari Corporation used Motion Capture technology
in the development of the game, giving the 3D characters
lifelike movement.

“By releasing ‘Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods’ and
‘Hoverstrike: Unconquered Lands’ in successive weeks,
our Jaguar CD title library is rapidly growing in scope and
depth,” said Ted Hoff, Atari‘s President of North American
Operations. “We will bring Jaguar gamers numerous top-
quality titles for both the Jaguar cartridge and CD formats
in the next several weeks.”

“Highlander: The Last of the MacLeods” has a suggested

493

retail price of $59.99, is rated K-A (appropriate for kids
and adults) and is available in stores nationwide.

For more than twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers
with high quality, value-priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets
Jaguar the only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system
and is located in Sunnyvale, California.

HIGHLANDER © 1994 Gaumont Television. All rights reserved. High-
lander is a protected trademark of Gaumont Television. Licensed to Atari
Corporation. Cinepak and the Cinepak logo is a registered trademark of
Radius Inc. Atari, the Atari logo and Jaguar are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Atari Corporation.

494

Atari Corporation Presents Pinball Like You‘ve
Never Seen It Before

Sunnyvale, CA — November 6, 1995 — With its third soft-
ware release in as many weeks, Atari Corporation con-
tinues to provide the home entertainment system market
with new titles for both their Jaguar 64 system and CD
peripheral.

Ruiner Pinball, a high speed interactive pinball game for
the Jaguar 64 system, hits retail shelves today.Ruiner Pin-
ball offers two games within the single title: ‘Ruiner’ and
‘Tower.’ Both feature fast pinball action with all the bells,
bings, clunks and pings from an arcade pinball game

— except with Ruiner Pinball, gamers can keep their quar-
ters at home!

The ‘Ruiner’ selection features a double-wide table with
intense gameplay and real arcade response as gamers
must protect their country from a foreign attack. ‘Tower’
transports gamers to an eerie castle in a strange land
where they must fight an evil Sorceress. If the triple-
length table in ‘Tower’ doesn‘t provide enough of a chal-
lenge, gamers must also cast three spells in order to defeat
the Sorceress and demolish the castle. In addition to the
several dimensions of gameplay, Ruiner Pinball boasts
3-D animated enemies and targets as well as arcade table
sound effects and a “Tiny Cam,” which offers a picture-
within-a-picture.

“Atari Corporation has elevated pinball into Next Gen-
eration-caliber entertainment,” said Ted Hoff, Atari
Corporation‘s President of North American Operations.

495

“Ruiner Pinball is just one of fifteen exciting titles Atari
will release this holiday season for the Jaguar 64 system
and CD player.“

Ruiner Pinball is rated K-A (appropriate for kids through
adults), is available in stores nationwide and has a sug-
gested retail price of $59.99.

496

Atari Corp. and Run PC Open Jaguar Mall Store;
Spectacular Grand Opening Sells Out Of Hot Sys-
tem Titles

Longmont, CO — November 7, 1995 — Run PC, a regional
retail leader in computers and next-generation game sys-
tems, has opened the first Jaguar Mall Store.

The store is located inside the 550,000 square foot Twin
Peaks Mall in Longmont, and is anchored by JC Penney,
Sears and Joslins Department Stores. The prototype store
exclusively demonstrates and sells the Atari 64-bit Jaguar
home entertainment system and the Lynx handheld color
gaming system. Atari has provided high-end interactive
merchandising materials including arcade-style “hands-
on” displays, banners and signage.

“We are proud to have worked with Run PC and to have
opened the first ever Jaguar-only mall location,” stated
Ted Hoff, Atari‘s president of North American operations.
“We support the concept of selling product in locations
where customers can see and play the Jaguar system
themselves.”

In the first two days since opening on Saturday, Nov. 4,
Run PC has sold out of the most popular Jaguar-related
products. “Everyone who purchased a Jaguar had to have
a copy of ‘Alien vs. Predator’,” said Jon J. Willig, president
of Run PC. “It‘s clear that I have to reexamine my staffing
and inventory to prepare for greater sales throughout the
holiday season.” Willig added: “As a retailer, we strongly
believe in the Jaguar system. For less than $150, we are
finding that the system literally flies off the shelves, out-

497

selling competing systems sold in other mall stores many
times over. Atari has always been responsive to our needs
and requests, it‘s a pleasure to serve our customers with
their support.”

The Jaguar-only store is open during mall hours and is
located in the Twin Peaks Mall on South Hover Road

in Longmont. It is the largest shopping mall in Central
Boulder County with a trade area population of well over
310,000. The Atari Jaguar is the world‘s first 64-bit multi-
media gaming system and the only game system manufac-
tured in the United States. About 40 powerful game titles
are already available for the Jaguar including award-win-
ning hits like “Doom” and “Tempest 2000,” as well as new
releases such as “Highlander,” “Ruiner Pinball,” “Pitfall!”
and Time Warner Interactive‘s “Power Drive Rally.”

Soon to be released titles include: “NBA Jam Tournament
Edition”, “Myst”. “Primal Rage“ and “Zoop.”

For more than 20 years, Atari has provided consumers with high quality,
value-priced entertainment. Atari markets Jaguar, the only American-
made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system and is located in Sunny-
vale, California.

Atari is a registered trademark of Atari Corp. Jaguar and Lynx are
trademarks of Atari Corp. All other products are trademarks or regis-
tered trademarks of their owning companies. ,,Alien“ and ,,Predator“
are trademarks and copyrights of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. All
rights reserved. Used under sublicense from Activision.

498

Missile Command 3D Ships

Sunnyvale, CA — December 12, 1995 — Load your lasers,
mark your missiles and secure your smart bombs, your
colony is under alien attack. Gamers are gearing up after
Atari Corporation‘s announcement that “Missile Com-
mand 3D” is the latest artillery in the Atari Jaguar 64
software arsenal.

Based on the arcade classic, the Jaguar update of “Missile
Command 3D” features both fiercer firepower and nastier
bad guys. It takes more than missiles, lasers and smart
bombs to defeat these aliens — gamers must employ a
quick and accurate fighting style to protect their neighbor-
hoods from the outer space invasion.

“Missile Command 3D” contains three different game op-
tions: Original Missile Command, 3D Missile Command
and Virtual Missile Command. The “Virtual” and “3D”
game options boast a number of 3-dimensional worlds
found undersea, in the clouds and in outer space. Stereo
sound, texture mapped graphics and multiple back-
grounds compliment the power of the Jaguar 64 system.

“Atari Corporation continues to provide Jaguar owners
with top-quality, exciting games for their Jaguar 64 sys-
tems,” said Ted Hoff, Atari‘s President of North American
Operations. “Missile Command 3D’ is another outstand-
ing title in our lineup of software releases for the Atari
Jaguar 64 and CD peripheral this holiday season.”

“Missile Command 3D” is available in stores nationwide,
has a suggested retail price of $59.99, and is rated K-A

499

(appropriate for kids to adults).

For more than twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers
with high quality, value-priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets
Jaguar, the only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system
and is located in Sunnyvale, California.

500

Core System Price Drops to $99

Sunnyvale, CA — December 15, 1995 — In a bold retailing
move to increase its share in the interactive home enter-
tainment market, Atari Corporation announced that the
Jaguar 64 system will be priced at $99.

A premier gaming platform launched nationally in 1994,
the Jaguar is a power home video game system designed
to provide game enthusiasts with top-quality entertain-
ment products. Atari has developed an extensive software
library to support the Jaguar system, and is committed to
aggressively expanding its list of exclusive titles through-
out 1996. Four new Atari titles have been released this
week alone for the Jaguar 64: “Atari Karts”, “I-War’”,
“Fever Pitch Soccer” and “Supercross 3D”. The new games
will be available at retail stores before Christmas.

As Ted Hoff, Atari‘s President of North American Opera-
tions explained, “Atari is proud of the depth and breadth
of current Jaguar platform software titles, and we're com-
mitted to enhancing this already impressive collection.
Offering the Jaguar 64 at $99 will allow us to reach more
consumers nationwide with top-quality games.”

Hoff indicated the Jaguar 64 systems will be offered at
their new price in retail outlets across the country effective
Saturday, December 16. That means there's still time for
Christmas shoppers to benefit from the $99 price tag.

With its aggressive new pricing, Atari Corporation is of-
fering consumers a high-end home video game system at
a mass market price. The action reinforces Atari‘s com-

501

mitment to the Jaguar gaming platform, as well as provid-
ing consumers with superior and affordable interactive
products.

For more than twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consumers
with high quality value-priced entertainment. Atari Corporation markets
Jaguar, the only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment system
and is located in Sunnyvale, California. Atari and Jaguar are registered
trademarks of Atari Corporation. All rights reserved.

502

Atari Interactive founded

Las Vegas, NV — January 2, 1996 — Atari Corp., founder of
America‘s video game industry, has broadened its busi-
ness with the formation of Atari Interactive, a new divi-
sion dedicated to the development and distribution of
multi-platform interactive entertainment.

Ted Hoff, president, Atari USA, formally announced the
company‘s new division this week. “With the formation of
Atari Interactive, we are creating a new division to address
the worldwide PC market,” Hoff stated, adding, “Atari
Interactive will allow consumers to receive our enter-
tainment products on a variety of formats, from existing
platforms and consoles such as our own Jaguar system, to
PC, Mac, the Internet and Web sites.”

Over the past 25 years, Atari‘s creativity and vision have
led to the development of exciting and successful games
such as “Tempest,” “Missile Command” and “Crystal
Castles.” Now, the company will continue its tradition of
innovation, combined with its concern for meeting con-
sumer needs, by developing entertaining, multi-platform
software.

Atari Interactive software will feature Atari‘s classic
arcade-style games updated to play on a number of gam-
ing environments. Interactive software enthusiasts will
be able to enjoy enhanced Atari classics such as “Tempest
2000,” “Missile Command 3D” and “Return to Crystal
Castles.” In addition, they can experience the robust, rich
environments of Atari Interactive's new games, like the
“Interactive Rocky Horror Show” and “Virtual War.” Atari

503

Interactive‘s games will be available to preview through
the Atari Web site on the Internet (http://www.atari.
com).

Four CD-ROM titles under the Atari Interactive name will
be available in the first quarter. These premier entertain-
ment software titles are:

“Tempest 2000”: An American video game classic first
developed by Atari in 1981 as an arcade game. The CD title
features elaborate and enhanced 3-D graphics and anima-
tion, as well as a CD-quality techno-rave soundtrack.

“Highlander”: A new action-adventure CD-ROM title
that allows players to become Quentin MacLeod, the
last immortal, known as “The Highlander.” As Quentin
MacLeod, players encounter challenging and complex
puzzles in their quest to defeat the evil Kortan.

“Baldies”: As rulers of a fictitious world populated by
builders, workers, soldiers and scientists (who are bald, of
course), players must determine how best to employ their
resources to safeguard their world while at the same time
eliminate the enemy. “Baldies” has network capability,
which allows up to four players to enjoy the game at once,
delivering four times the fun!

“FlipOut!”: Players maneuver their way through 14 dif-
ferent areas of The Cheese Planet while trying to solve
increasingly difficult puzzles (levels range from Normal
to Psychotic). Whether they are in Mt. Rushmore or the
Sphorkle Diner, players need to keep an eye out for mis-
chievous aliens who'll trip them up just for the fun of it.

504

The introduction of these games is only the beginning for
Atari Interactive. Additional titles currently under devel-
opment will be available throughout 1996. In discussing
Atari interactive‘s games, Hoff explained: “The introduc-
tory titles by Atari Interactive are designed to appeal to
long-time fans of classic arcade games who want a dif-
ferent, or perhaps new medium in which to play those
games, as well as novice players eager to test-drive this
entertainment form on their PC. By offering game enthu-
siasts more access options to superior products, we have
enhanced their opportunity for convenient, exciting and
challenging entertainment.”

505

Atari and JTS merge

Sunnyvale, CA — February 13, 1996 — Atari Corporation
and JTS Corporation today agreed to merge the two com-
panies. Atari is the pioneer in multimedia video entertain-
ment and JTS is a manufacturer of computer disk drives.

“This merger puts us in a great position to capitalize on a
very experienced management team and a rapidly grow-
ing disk drive market. JTS is using innovative technology,
particularly in the 3“ disk drive market, and we are excited
about its prospects,” said Jack Tramiel, chairman of Atari.

“Our partnership gives us the ability to expand our capa-
bilities and pursue new opportunities,” said Tom Mitchell,
president and chief executive officer of JTS. “Dataquest
has predicted that 115 million disk drive units will be
shipped worldwide in 1996, and it is a great time for us to
be participating in this market,“ said Mitchell.

Terms of the Agreement

Under the terms of the agreement, the new corporation
will operate under the name of JTS Corporation and the
officers of JTS will become the officers of the merged com-
pany. The Atari entertainment business and the JTS disk
drive business will operate as separate divisions of the
new merged company. Atari has extended a bridge loan to
JTS in the amount of $25,000,000.

In the event that the merger is not consummated, the
bridge loan will be convertible into shares of JTS Series A
Preferred Stock at the option of Atari or JTS and subject
to certain conditions. As a result of the transaction, Atari

506

stockholders will hold approximately 60% of the out-
standing shares of the new company following the merger.
The transaction is structured to qualify as a tax-free reor-
ganization and will be accounted for as a purchase.

The board of directors of Atari and JTS have approved
the definitive agreement. The merger is subject to certain
shareholder and regulatory approvals and other condi-
tions to closing. The parties anticipate the transaction will
close toward the end of the second calendar quarter of
1996.

JTS Management Team

JTS was formed in 1994 by Jugi Tandon, the company‘s
current chairman of the board. Tandon is well-known in
the computer storage industry for his ability to develop
innovative products for the marketplace. Tandon will
remain chairman of the board of the new company.

Tom Mitchell was a co-founder of Seagate Technology and
president and chief operations officer of both Seagate and
Conner Peripherals. Mitchell brings unparalleled industry
and operational experience in the high-volume disk drive
market. He is a pioneer in disk drive manufacturing in
Singapore, Thailand, China and India.

About Atari Corporation

For more than twenty years, Atari has provided consum-
ers with high-quality, value-priced entertainment. Atari
markets Jaguar, the only American-made, advanced
64-bit entertainment system and licenses and markets
software in the multi-platform, multimedia market. Atari
is located in Sunnyvale, California.

507

About JTS Corporation

Founded in 1994, JTS Corporation develops and manu-
factures hard disk drives for the computer industry. JTS
has recently introduced its new 3“ Nordic product for

the portable computer market. Headquartered in San
Jose, California, with manufacturing facilities in Madras,
India, JTS employe 1,300 people worldwide. The above
statements regarding the disk drive industry and JTS‘
prospects are forward looking statements and involve

a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the factors
that would cause actual results to differ materially are the
following: business conditions and growth in the portable
computer industry and in the general economy; competi-
tive factors, including pricing pressures; availability of
components from third parties; risks associated with man-
ufacturing of products in India or other overseas jurisdic-
tions and risks associated with JTS‘ ability to ramp its
manufacturing operations, including cost and yield issues.

508

Defender 2000 released

Sunnyvale, CA — February 14, 1996 — Atari announced
today that the long awaited 64-bit Jaguar title, “Defender
2000”, is now shipping to better video game retailers
across the country. The title is the newest addition to
Atari‘s classic collection of renowned hits from the golden
age of video games. As one of the most popular video
games of all time, “Defender”, helped set the standard of
video game evolution with fast-paced simultaneous action
aided by smart bombs and an integrated real-time radar.

Developed by Jeff Minter, the ingenious mastermind be-
hind “Tempest® 2000™”, “Defender 2000” is a complete
software package for the “Defender” aficionado. “Defender
2000” updates the game play and visual thrill with a nine-
ties flare. “Defender Plus” transports the player through
worlds of cosmic rainbows and mystic clouds. “Classic De-
fender” takes the player right back to his favorite arcade
of yesteryear with impeccable attention to detail. All three
games sizzle with fun and explode with excitement like no
other game of its kind.

“Defender 2000’ not only exploits the raw 64-bit power of
the Jaguar, but it transcends the new standard of medi-
ocrity that gamers often settle for in software these days,”
stated Don Thomas, Marketing Director of Atari Corpo-
ration. “Defender 2000’ is considered a system seller
because new gamers will gladly pay the low $99 console
price to play ‘Defender 2000’ once they‘ve seen what it
can do.”

“Defender 2000” features upgradeable weapons, human

509

helpers, AI droids and spectacular Algo-Vision™ effects
for one or two players. It also features an intense CD-qual-
ity techno-rave soundtrack by the award-winning team
from “Tempest 2000”.

The Atari Jaguar is the worlds first 64-bit multimedia
gaming system and the only game system manufactured
in the United States. Over 50 powerful game titles are
already available for the Jaguar including hits like “Alien
vs. Predator”, “Doom”, “Tempest 2000”, “NBA Jam Tour-
nament Edition”, “Myst”, “Zoop”, “Highlander”, “Ruiner
Pinball”, “Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure!” and Time War-
ner Interactives “Power Drive Rally” and “Primal Rage”.

For more than twenty years, Atari Corporation has provided consum-
ers with high quality, value-priced entertainment. Atari Corporation
markets Jaguar the only American-made, advanced 64-bit entertainment
system and is located in Sunnyvale, California.

Atari is a registered trademark of Atari Corporation. Jaguar is a
trademarks of Atari Corporation. All other products are trademarks

or registered trademarks of their owning companies. Defender and
Defender 2000 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Williams
Electronics Games, Inc. Defender 2000 is developed and manufactured
by Atari Corporation under license. Alien and Predator are trademarks
and copyrights of Twentieth

510

Atari Corporation Announces Results For The
Year

Sunnyvale, CA — March 15, 1996 — Atari Corporation
reported today its results for the year and fourth quarter
ended December 31, 1995.

For the year ended 1995, NET SALES were $14.6 million
compared to $38.7 million for the year ended 1994. The
sales decrease was due to the poor sales of Jaguar, the
Company‘s 64-bit multi-media interactive entertainment
system, and related software. The Company reported a
NET LOSS for 1995 of $49.6 million compared to NET IN-
COME for 1994 of $9.4 million. The loss for 1995 is prin-
cipally attributable to substantial writedowns of inventory
and software development costs as well as substantially
lower sales for the Jaguar and related software.

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 1995, NET
SALES were $2.8 million compared to $14.9 million

for the fourth quarter of 1994. The Company reported a
NET LOSS for the fourth quarter of 1995 of $27.7 million
compared to NET INCOME of $17.6 million in the fourth
quarter of 1994. The income in the fourth quarter of 1994
was primarily from licensing technology to Sega Enter-
prises. The loss for the 1995 quarter is attributable to
substantial write downs of inventory and software devel-
opment costs as well as substantially lower sales for the
Jaguar and related software.

Preliminary First Quarter News
In the first quarter of 1996, the Company sold the remain-
ing balance of its holdings in a publicly traded security,

511

and realized a gain of $6.1 million. Sales of Jaguar in the
first quarter of 1996 continue to be poor. The Company,

in late 1995, reduced the price of the Jaguar to $99.95

and is presently test marketing different price points and
software bundles for the Jaguar in an attempt to sell its
inventory of such products. The Company has also sub-
stantially reduced its workforce and curtailed its sales and
marketing and research and development activities.

Atari Corporation and JTS Corporation to Merge
On February 13, 1996, Atari Corporation and JTS Corpo-
ration announced plans to merge the two companies. JTS
is a manufacturer of personal computer hard disk drives.
“This merger puts us in a great position to capitalize an a
very experienced management team and a rapidly grow-
ing disk drive market. JTS is using innovative technology,
particularly in the 3“ disk drive market, and we are excited
about its prospects,” said Jack Tramiel, Chairman of
Atari. Under the terms of the agreement, the new corpora-
tion will operate under the name of JTS Corporation and
the officers of JTS will become the officers of the merged
company. The Atari entertainment business and the JTS
disk drive business will operate as separate divisions of
the new merged company.

In connection with the merger Atari has extended a bridge
loan to JTS in the amount of $25 million. In the event that
the merger is not consummated, the bridge loan may be
convertible into shares of JTS Series A Preferred Stock at
the option of Atari or JTS and subject to certain condi-
tions.

As a result of the transaction, Atari stockholders will

512

hold approximately 60% of the outstanding shares of the
new company following the merger. The transaction is
structured to qualify as a tax-free reorganization and will
be accounted for as a purchase.

The boards of directors of Atari and JTS have approved
the definitive merger agreement. The merger is subject to
certain shareholder and regulatory approvals and other
conditions to closing. It is anticipated that the transaction
will close toward the end of the second calendar quarter of
1996.

Atari Corporation markets Jaguar, the only American made, advanced
64-bit entertainment system, and licenses and markets software in
the multi-platform, multimedia market. Atari is located in Sunnyvale,
California.

The above statements regarding the disk drive industry and JTS‘ pros-
pects are forward looking statements and involve a number of risks

and uncertainties. Among the factors that would cause actual results to
differ materially are the following: business conditions and growth in
the portable computer industry and in the general economy; competitive
factors, including pricing pressures; availability of components from
third parties; risks associated with manufacturing of products in India
or other overseas jurisdictions and risks associated with JTS‘ ability to
ramp its manufacturing operations, including cost and yield issues.

513

Atari Announces First Quarter 1996 Results

Sunnyvale, CA — May 20, 1996 — Atari Corp., citing a gain
of $6.3 million from the sale of some of its holdings, Mon-
day reported its first quarter losses narrowed to $806,000
from $4.42 million during the same period last year. Sales
plunged 75 percent to $1.27 million from $4.87 million a
year ago. Atari noted its latest loss included a gain of $6.3
million on the sale of the remaining balance of the compa-
ny‘s holdings in a publicly traded security. The video game
maker said sales of the Jaguar continue to be disappoint-
ing and the company made substantial writedowns of
inventory in the first quarter of 1996.

Atari said it is pursuing sales of its inventory of Jaguar
product in Europe and North America. On February 13
Atari and JTS Corp. announced plans to merge the two
companies. JTS is a manufacturer of personal computer
hard disk drives. Under the terms of the agreement, the
new company will operate under the name of JTS and
the officers of JTS will become the officers of the merged
company.

The Atari entertainment business and the JTS disk drive
business will operate as separate divisions of the new
merged company. In connection with the merger Atari has
extended a bridge loan to JTS in the amount of $25 mil-
lion. In the event that the merger is not consummated, the
bridge loan may be convertible into shares of JTS Series A
preferred stock at the option of Atari or JTS and subject to
certain conditions.

As a result of the transaction, Atari stockholders will hold

514

approximately 60 percent of the outstanding shares of
the new company following the merger. The transaction is
structured to qualify as a tax-free reorganization and will
be accounted for as a purchase. The boards of directors of
Atari and JTS have approved the definitive merger agree-
ment.

The merger is subject to certain shareholder and regula-
tory approvals and other conditions to closing. It is an-
ticipated that the transaction will close toward the end of
the second calendar quarter of 1996. Atari has been in the
video game business for over twenty years.

Atari Corporation Announces First Quarter 1996
Results

Sunnyvale, CA — May 20, 1996 — Atari Corporation today
reported its financial results for the first quarter ended
March 31, 1996. Net sales for the first quarter of 1996 were
$1.3 million as compared to $4.9 million for the first quar-
ter of 1995. As previously reported, the Company sold the
remaining balance of its holdings in a publicly traded se-
curity during the first quarter of 1996 and realized a gain
of $6.3 million. Sales of the Jaguar continue to be disap-
pointing and the Company made substantial writedowns
of inventory in the first quarter of 1996. The Net Loss for
the first quarter of 1996 was $.8 million compared to a net
loss of $4.4 million for the first quarter of 1995. The Com-
pany is pursuing sales of its inventory of Jaguar product in
Europe and North America.

515

Atari Merges With JTS Corporation

San Jose, CA — July 31, 1996 — JTS Corporation and Atari
Corporation announced today that they each received
stockholder approval of their proposal to merge the two
companies. JTS and Atari have filed Certificates of Merger
with authorities in Delaware and Nevada and the merger
closed today. JTS Corporation will be the surviving entity
in the merger, and the combined organization will be
based in San Jose, California. The JTS Common Stock will
commence trading on the American Stock Exchange un-
der the symbol “JTS” on July 31, 1996. The Atari Common
Stock was delisted from the American Stock Exchange
following trading on July 30, 1996.

Upon closing of the merger, each outstanding share

of Atari Common Stock was exchanged for one share

of JTS Common Stock. JTS exchanged approximately
63,850,000 shares of its Common Stock for all of the out-
standing stock of Atari and JTS has 103,415,517 million
shares outstanding following the merger. The merger is
intended to qualify as a tax-free reorganization for Federal
Income Tax purposes.

“This merger is another step toward our goal of becom-
ing a leading international supplier of hard disk drives in
the rapidly growing hard disk drive market,” said David
T. Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer and President of JTS.
JTS designs, develops, manufacturers and markets hard
disk drives for use in notebook computers and desktop
personal computers. The Company recently introduced its
new 3-inch Nordic product for notebook computers.

516

“We are pleased to be a part of JTS Corporation, the disk

drive market is growing rapidly and we continue to be ex-
cited about the prospects of the 3-inch Nordc disk drive,”
said Jack Tramiel, former Chairman of Atari.

JTS is headquartered in San Jose, California and has its disk drive manu-
facturing facility in Madras, India. JTS‘ Atari Division licenses and mar-
kets software in the multi-platform, multimedia market. JTS employs
4300 people worldwide.

517

AIRCARS ... New Jaguar Release

Rockford, IL — May 24, 1997 — ICD, Inc. is pleased to an-
nounce a limited release of Aircars for the Atari Jaguar.
Aircars was developed by the MidNite Entertainment
Group and completed in 1995. It was reviewed by several
game magazines but with a less than enthusiastic press
response and company financial difficulties, it was held up
and never published.

The game is set in the wake of a nuclear holocaust. Your
job is to pilot an Aircar, to pick up weapons, and de-

stroy key installations within each complex (base). Then
teleport to the next base and repeat. There are at least

28 bases which must be neutralized in order to save the
new world. Aircars supports up to 8 players networked by
ICD‘s CatBox. It also supports Ataris Jaglink in a 2 player
mode. The networking code is solid and works reliably.
Each player is allowed to select an 8 character name and
is assigned a different colored Aircar. There are also robot
Aircars and tanks in the game.

For the network modes, each Jaguar (player) requires an
Aircars game cartridge and a CatBox. Aircars will be pro-
duced in a standard Atari plastic cartridge shell with a full
color cartridge label. The game manual will be printed in
black & white. They will be shrinkwrapped together in a
standard inner box without the normal outer box. Air-
cars will begin shipping by June 11th at a cost of $59.95
plus $5 S&H in N.A. There is no shipping charge on retail
orders of two or more in North America. Please book your
orders now. Since this is a limited release and uses more
expensive parts than production Jaguar cartridges, do not

518

expect any price reductions. Our margins are very thin
and Aircars will only be available for a limited time.

ICD will accept Visa or Mastercard and checks or Money
Orders as long as supplies last. Contact ICD at 815-968-
2228 ext 222, fax 815-968-6888, or EMAIL Icdinc@aol.
com. ICD, Inc., 1220 Rock Street, Rockford, IL 61101,
USA.

519

Telegames announces ZERO 5

Dallas, TX — September 18, 1997 — Telegames announces
the official release date of its next product for the Atari
Jaguar, ZERO 5. ZERO 5 will begin shipping worldwide
on September 29th.

ZERO 5 is a futuristic space shooter set in a 3-D, 360
degree playfield. The year is 2044 and the battle for Earth
has begun. On the far reaches of the galaxy, a massive
invasion force is assembling. Scanners at DEFCON have
alerted you to the alien threat. The Earth‘s best pilots are
dispatched in their BAMBAM cruisers to engage the
enemy. Multiple weapons, driving soundtrack, non-stop
combat, multiple power-ups, and 15 extended missions
contribute to a shooters game with real depth.

520

Hasbro Interactive Acquires Legendary Atari
Game Property Assets

Beverly, MA — March 16, 1998 — Leading interactive
games publisher Hasbro Interactive, Inc., a subsidiary

of Hasbro, Inc., announced today that a subsidiary has
acquired copyrights, trademarks, patents and other intel-
lectual property assets of the Atari Division of JTS Cor-
poration, giving Hasbro Interactive rights to some of the
greatest video games and play patterns ever created for
multimedia entertainment. The Atari properties and as-
sets include over 75 game properties including the legend-
ary titles Centipede, Missile Command, Pong, Breakout
and Tempest. Hasbro Interactive plans to release its first
Atari title this fall with Centipede for both the PC and
Sony Playstation game console.

“We are thrilled that the classic Atari game properties will
now be a part of the Hasbro family,” said Tom Dusenber-
ry, President of Hasbro Interactive. “These ground-break-
ing games helped pioneer the video game industry,“ added
Dusenberry. “We intend to bring these classics back to life
by updating them with the latest technology and interac-
tive game design, while preserving their heart and spirit.”

Hasbro Interactive has proven its ability to bring beloved
arcade classics successfully back to life with its blockbust-
er launch of Frogger in 1997 for both the PC and Playsta-
tion game console. Frogger, based on the 1980s‘ mega
video game originally developed by KONAMI Co., Ltd.,
was a huge hit over the holidays and continues to hop its
way up the best-selling interactive game charts.

521

“We plan to implement the same aggressive strategy we
used with Frogger, in bringing back the Atari classics,”
added Dusenberry. “We will develop games that appeal to
the players who loved the titles as kids, while attracting a
whole new generation by bringing the games up to today‘s
highest standards. Of course, like all Hasbro Interactive
titles, they will be backed by major marketing and mer-
chandising programs.”

With the acquisition of Atari‘s deep library of game prop-
erties, Hasbro Interactive seeks to strengthen its position
in the action game category. Hasbro Interactive intends to
develop various titles for all viable and available gaming
platforms — PC CD-ROM, the Sony Playstation and Nin-
tendo 64 game consoles, among others.

Background on Some Atari Favorites

The largest insect invasion in history was recorded when
Centipede hit the arcades in the 1980s. “Getting the bugs
out” was the mission in this perennial favorite. The player
launched rapid-fire attacks against persistent centipedes,
sticky spiders, mushroom-dropping fleas and poisonous
scorpions in order to re-claim the sacred mushroom
patch.

No guts, no glory was the motto in the Atari classic, Mis-
sile Command. Players needed quick thinking and rapid
fire to combat the battalions of bombers, satellites, mis-
siles and smart bombs in this fast-action shooter. Blow
them away first — otherwise you‘re vapor!

The two games that gave birth to the video game industry
were pioneers Pong and Breakout. No fancy graphics were

522

needed in these addictive thrillers — just a good dose of
quick reaction and hand-eye coordination would do the
job. Pong, the game of “virtual” handball, mesmerized
gamers for hours as they battled their friends and foes
match after match. Breaking through walls of bricks by
ricocheting balls off of a video paddle was the simple, but
very addictive premise behind Breakout. The desire to
get a better score, kept the early gamers coming back for
more.

Hasbro Interactive, Inc. is a leading all-family interactive games pub-
lisher, formed in 1995 to bring to life on the computer the deep library of
toy and board games of parent company, Hasbro, Inc.. Hasbro Interac-
tive has expanded its charter to include original and licensed games for
the PC, the Sony PlayStation™ and for multi-player gaming over the
Internet. Headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, Hasbro Interactive
has offices in the U.K., France, Germany, Japan and Canada. For more
information on Hasbro Interactive titles, please visit www. hasbro-inter-
active.com.

Frogger is a registered trademark of Konami Co., Ltd. 1981 KONAMI. All
rights reserved. PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are trademarks of
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. Nintendo is a registered trademark
of Nintendo of America, Inc. 1998 Hasbro Interactive, Inc. 1998 Hasbro,
Inc.

523

Hasbro Releases Jaguar Publishing Rights

Beverly, MA — May 14, 1999 — Leading entertainment
software publisher, Hasbro Interactive announced today it
has released all rights that it may have to the vintage Atari
hardware platform, the Jaguar.

Hasbro Interactive acquired rights to many Atari proper-
ties, including the legendary Centipede, Missile Com-
mand, and Pong games, in a March 1998 acquisition from
JTS Corporation.

This announcement will allow software developers to
create and publish software for the Jaguar system with-
out having to obtain a licensing agreement with Hasbro
Interactive for such platform development. Hasbro Inter-
active cautioned, however, that the developers should not
use the Atari trademark or logo in connection with their
games or present the games as authorized or approved by
Hasbro Interactive.

“Hasbro Interactive is strictly focused on developing and
publishing entertainment software for the PC and the next
generation game consoles,” said Richard Cleveland, Head
of Marketing for Hasbro Interactive‘s Atari Business Unit.
“We realize there is a passionate audience of diehard Atari
fans who want to keep the Jaguar system alive, and we
don‘t want to prevent them from doing that. We will not
interfere with the efforts of software developers to create
software for the Jaguar system.”

524

tive has expanded its charter to include original and licensed games

for the PC, the Playstation® and Nintendo® 64 game consoles and for
multi-player gaming over the internet. Headquartered in Beverly, Mas-
sachusetts, Hasbro Interactive has offices in the U.K., France, Germany,
Japan and Canada. For more information, visit the Hasbro Interactive
Web site at http://www.hasbro-interactive.com.

525

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